


Night Huntress Drabble Series

by JackOfAllTrades97



Category: Night Huntress Series - Jeaniene Frost
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Drabble Series, F/M, Loooooots of Fluff, Mentions of Past Rape and Abuse, Open to requests
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2020-08-19 08:36:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20206852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackOfAllTrades97/pseuds/JackOfAllTrades97
Summary: After reading this wonderful series by Jeaniene Frost, everything belongs to her I'm just playing with her characters, I was dismayed that there isn't a lot of fanfiction about it. Don't even get me started on the lack of Fanart. well I cant draw for anything but I can write so write I shall. If you want to read anything in particular for any of the four main couples feel free to drop a request in. Until then, happy reading!





	1. The Wooing of the Pharoah

After a lot of thought I decided my first drabble would be for Mencheres and Kira! This will have three parts but for now I'm only posting the first one. Read and Review if you like it.

"One of these days I really need to introduce you properly to Tina." Mencheres glanced up from his desk at the very welcome interruption. Kira leaned against the doorjamb, her blonde hair now shoulder length. He enjoyed running his fingers through it while they lay intertwined after a bout of lovemaking, maybe he could convince her not to cut it any time soon. Kira looked stunning no matter her hair length or style but he knew that he would have a very difficult time controlling himself if she were to grow it out. Yanking himself back from his heated train of thought, Mencheres focused on her previous statement.

"Yes. I would like to meet her as well; we didn't truly meet last time. She is your family and I want no ill will about our relationship to cause problems with you two. When would you like to set up a day?" Kira smiled at his easy agreement, gliding further into the room as she thought.  
"It doesn't have to be now, there isn't really a rush on it but I would prefer to introduce you two before the end of next month? Would that work for you?" As she spoke he closed the book that had previously been in his lap, placing it on his desk, before opening his arms. Taking the unspoken invitation Kira shifted carefully into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck in a loose hug.

Mencheres stroked her spine as he mentally went over his schedule, "That shouldn't be a problem, if you'll ask your sister when she is available after this month I will rearrange my schedule to fit." Kira kissed his throat in appreciation, as her lips traveled down to the beginning of his chest a niggling curiosity tugged at Mencheres, prompting him to ask before she could distract him into forgetting his query.  
"Was there any reason behind wanting me to meet your sister besides simply for the sake of meeting her? I have no problem with meeting her of course, but your timing in asking is curious." Kira hesitated in her kisses for a second before dragging her mouth up to his lips. After a long thorough kiss she answered, "There is a reason, actually. Tina wants to meet you to make sure that you're treating me right." Before Mencheres could speak Kira rushed on in defense of her sisters actions. "She just wants to be sure that I'm okay. Once she meets you then she wont worry as much. I tell her all about you but…"

Mencheres could smell the scent of distress rolling off Kira, before she could work herself up he cut off her unnecessary defending. "You don't need to explain further, your sister loves you and only wishes to be sure that you are well taken care of. I would wish to meet anyone that Gorgon chose to date for the same reason." Even after his reassurance there was still a slight scent of worry around Kira, confusing Mencheres until she spoke up again.

"It's not only that… When I first dated Pete I use to gush about him all the time too, but Tina got bad vibes off of him just like I did when I finally stopped suppressing my instincts. After the clusterfuck that Pete turned into Tina just wants to make sure she doesn't get the same feelings off of you…" Understanding clicked in him immediately, Tina had watched her sister be trapped in an abusive relationship. It was only natural for her to want to meet him to be sure that he wasn't of the same ilk. Feeling her nerves practically running wild, he stroked his power over her in a comforting caress. He made sure to send his calm and understanding through the bond to make her see that he truly didn't take offense.

"Your sister is only trying her best to watch out for you and I appreciate that loyalty. I would never fault it, especially after everything you two have been through. I will meet her and as you said once she gets to know me, she will know that she has nothing to fear of me harming you in any way." Kira's eyes had a pink sheen before she quickly blinked it back.

"Thank you for understanding, not many men would. Then again, you are in a class all your own and you always have been. I have no doubt that you and Tina will get along great in no time. You already treat me better than anyone else ever has." The compliment warmed him throughout, but her last sentence reminded him of one of the few regrets he has had since beginning his relationship with Kira.  
Sensing his flash of regret, Kira perked up in concern, "What's wrong?" Looking into her eyes, he knew he could get lost in them if he allowed himself to. His beautiful dark lady's scent was now sour with worry; this was not something he could let continue so he answered.

"I was just remembering when we first began our relationship." Sensing a flash of hurt from her that he regretted their relationship he quickly continued on, "I don't regret anything about our relationship itself, I just wish that I could have taken more time like you deserved. I wanted to spend months dragging out my courtship of you, woo you until you felt like the most desirable woman on the planet, getting to know you better than you know yourself, but I was under the misguided impression that I was going to die soon. If I had known what my stop in vision truly meant I would have taken my time like I wanted to."

By the end of his explanation Kira had relaxed again, the previous hurt gone much to his relief. "I can see why you would want that, but I'm happy with how things turned out. Yes, it was rushed but I have you and that is all I need to be happy. You might have missed out on the whole wooing thing but honestly I was already wooed once and it didn't exactly end well. Maybe it's better that we skipped that step." The mention of her ex-husband made a cold rage flash through him before he could stop it. The thought that someone had so carelessly thrown away the chance that he hadn't had, to show this woman just how much she was worth and earning her heart, made his blood boil. It was a very good thing for her abuser that he was already dead, for if he wasn't Mencheres would have made absolutely certain that the rest of his miserable life would have been intolerable.

Sensing his flash of rage, Kira stroked his chest to calm him. In an attempt to steer the conversation back to more stable waters she said, "What about you?" Mencheres snapped out of his rage, looking curiously at her. Reading the question from his face she quickly elaborated. "You said you wish you could have wooed me, but has anyone ever wooed you?" The question was so absurd to him that his mind took a few extra seconds to process it. Of course no one had wooed him, generally speaking the males were the ones doing the wooing not being wooed.

Kira must have read that thought from his expression because she immediately scowled before swinging up to straddle him, effectively trapping him in his chair and leaving him nowhere to look but at her.

"I'm calling bullshit, just because you're a man doesn't mean you are any less deserving of being wooed. From what you've mentioned so far about your previous relationship it was similar to mine, abusive." He opened his mouth to object only for her to hush him with a finger pressed to his lips before she pushed on. "Just because it wasn't a physical abuse doesn't mean it wasn't abuse. That woman did things to hurt you with no other purpose than wanting your pain, whether emotional or mental that is abuse."  
Once again Mencheres finds himself speechless at Kira's words, seeing how surprised he is makes Kira feel like someone was trying to claw her heart out with silver. How much did he have to endure under that bitch all the while convincing himself that what she was doing wasn't abuse? How many times did she betray his trust and use the information he gave her to hurt him? Kira felt her chest rumble with a primal growl, here he was saying how she deserved better but he had no thought for how poorly he was treated for centuries! Making a decision she straightened in his lap, bringing his attention to her once again. He had felt her chest shiver with the repressed growl and he wasn't ashamed to say that her bone deep want to protect him made his long dead heart dance happily in its cage. Sensing that she was about to speak, he gave her his full attention.

"Never again, you and I both were abused by our spouses but neither of us will ever have to fight through that pain again. If wooing me means that much to you then, okay." Surprise flashed across his face before a smile started to grow, it wasn't the same as him wooing her into his bed but it would have to do. His smile froze in disbelief when she continued. "But I'm going to woo you too. We have both been through emotional hell, you for considerably longer than I was. It physically hurts me to think of everything you went through, all the times you were cruelly rejected for no other reason than she wanted to see you bleeding on the inside. I can't change what happened in the past, but I can love you so thoroughly that it makes the pain you use to feel a hazy memory in the back of your mind. If you think I deserve to be swept off my feet then you'll have to let me return the favor. I want to shower you with affection and love like you should have been for the last four and half millennia."

Mencheres felt a tight knot in his chest at her speech, here sat an extraordinary woman who wanted nothing more than to try to heal his past hurts, made by the one who he had trusted above all others despite knowing that she would betray him many times. As for her declaration, on one hand his honor rankled at the thought of his love taking care of him, it should be him taking care of her after all… However, the other part of him wanted to bask in her affections, it wanted to sit back and let her drown him in her love because, he was man enough to admit, he had desperately wanted this emotional connection for the better part of two millennia. He had been reaching out only to be painfully rebuffed for so long now that the thought of what Kira was offering was enough to bring tears to his eyes. His heart had once again been captured, only this time he had no doubts that it would be taken care of better than it ever had been, even better than when he had been the one to hold it before Petra. How many times had he laid awake beside his wife and wished with a soul deep ache for Petra to show him even the slightest scrap of affection without it being a ruse to hurt him? Would it be so bad to allow Kira to pursue him in the same manor he himself wished to pursue her in?

For just a moment, he allowed himself to picture it. He could give her all of the love he had in his heart and she would give hers back to him. She would soak him in the love he had craved for most if not all of his life. The picture was so beautifully perfect that he felt his very soul burn for it. Decision made, he opened his eyes to stare directly into Kira's patiently waiting face. Pulling her down into a kiss that couldn't possibly convey everything that he was feeling but was as good a place to start as any, he responded, "If that is what you wish, then that is what shall be."

Kira beamed above him, her smile lighting up his world as brightly as the sun outside the house, her warmth spreading through him from his head down to his toes. The last of his doubts were swept away under the sight of her happiness. She was that happy over the opportunity to show her love for him, he would ask for nothing else from the gods for as long as he lived.


	2. The Wooing of the Pharoah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm not sure how many people read the Night Huntress fanfictions but I decided to post my drabbles here as well as Fanfiction because why not. In this One-Shot that was originally three different chapters Mencheres mentions how he was disappointed to have rushed through the 'courting' phase of their relationship. Kira makes a deal with him so they can both enjoy the perks to courting. Read and Review with thoughts, opinions, and drabble ideas!

Kira laid back on the bed, mentally noting that it was really too big for just her. Her mind whirled as she tried to organize her thoughts, all of the chaos was centered on the conversation she and Mencheres had the previous week about wooing. 

Kira could tell that he already had several ideas of what he wanted to do for her, which left her feeling off balance. She wanted to treat him with the same devotion that he showered her with but while she had all the desire to do so, she had no clue what to do for him. 

Anything he wanted materially, he could get for himself and that defeated the purpose of showing him his worth to her. Releasing an unnecessary sigh Kira continued to ponder what exactly she could do for a mega-master vampire who had seen and done so much more than she ever had. As she continued pondering, being free to do so with her ever constant shadow out on an errand for Bones, she heard Gorgon call out into the mansion.

"Kira? That is the third time you've sigh in the last hour, would you like to discuss what is bothering you?" Kira winced in the realization that she had been that obvious before shaking off her embarrassment. She was coming up with nothing so far and Gorgon had known Mencheres for longer than she had been alive, maybe he would have some ideas? Or would he spill her plans to Mencheres? Making a snap decision, Kira slid to her feet and began striding toward where Gorgon waited for her reply.

Gorgon was standing in the dining room, concern shown in his eyes when they focused on her. Not wanting him to worry she quickly asked her question before she could lose her nerve. "If I wanted to surprise Mencheres how would I do it?" Gorgon blinked, a clear sign she had caught him off guard, before a slow smile spread across his mouth.

"So that is what has had you so distracted, I thought it might have been Mencheres not being here but this makes more sense given your independent personality. Speaking frankly, Kira he would adore anything you do for him simply because you are the one doing it. The hard truth of the matter is that for most of his life, our sire has had very few people who care for him just for him. People don't usually do things for him because they know he can do it himself. You want to do things for him because you care; I am of the same mind. He has been so long without that care that any amount of true affection is treasured by him. I apologize, but I truly have no advice to give you on this topic."

Kira sighed once again, she had worried that would be her answer. She knew that Mencheres would like anything she did, but she wanted it to be really special. Seeing her conflicted facial expression Gorgon spoke up, "You could call your sister or invite her over to discuss ideas? If you wish I could even go get her for you?" 

Kira blinked, all of that thinking and she never considered to ask Tina. She began pulling her phone out only to stop mid motion when she remembered a crucial reason that calling Tina right now was a bad idea.

"That is a good idea and thank you for the offer but she is out on a date today. Ever since Mencheres healed her she has been going out and doing everything that she use to not be able to do. I don't want to interrupt her first date in years for this, but I don't have any female friends who I can ask either." 

Gorgon's smile warmed at Kira's careful consideration of her little sister's feelings. Yes this woman was perfect for his sire in every way. It was long overdue for his old friend to have someone who cared as deeply as she did. He may not be able to help with the planning but maybe…

"You could also call Leila. You two seemed to get along well enough when you last met and she would have a unique perspective due to her being able to relive peoples pasts. Maybe she would have a suggestion?" 

While it was a good idea, Kira was a little weary. She didn't really know Leila that well, or Vlad for that matter. Would she mind Kira calling to ask her for help planning a surprise when she didn't know Mencheres? He had mentioned that Vlad was one of his closest friends, maybe if Leila couldn't offer advice Vlad could?

More and more questions whirled around her head, trying to slow her thoughts down enough to be logical Kira spat out the first question that came to mind. "I don't have Leila's phone number, how would I get a hold of her?" Okay not the question she had wanted to ask, but still important.

"I have had to call Vlad for Mencheres before, you could call him and then request to speak to Leila." Seeing her hesitance he threw in, "If you're worried about not knowing Leila that well, I can assure you that if she chooses not to help, Vlad would be another good source of information thanks to his long standing friendship with Mencheres." Seeing no other options Kira nodded her acceptance. "I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me the number. With any luck Leila will have an idea and I won't have to ask Vlad."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Vlad had seen the number for Mencheres flashing on his phone a hundred different worst case scenarios went through his mind. He answered bracing himself for bad news, only to be thoroughly surprised by the voice of Kira. If Kira calling him wasn't enough to confuse him, her request certainly was.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, but may I speak with Leila?" Vlad sat up in his bed, glancing over at his peacefully sleeping lover. Reluctant to wake her he spoke lowly into the phone, "She is asleep, is there something I can help you with?" He hadn't interacted with Kira much, but what he did know of her didn't worry him. However, he had no inkling of why she would be calling him unless something was wrong, but if something was wrong then why would she request Leila? Carefully standing as to not wake his lover, he swept into the adjoining room so he could speak without worry of his volume.

Seating himself by the fireplace, Vlad waited for Kira to come out with what she needed, she wouldn't call him unless that was the case, after all. It took a few seconds for her to respond, but it surprised him no less than her previous question had. 

"Crap I forgot about the time difference, I'm sorry if I woke you. I just wanted help coming up with a surprise for Mencheres and Leila is the only girl I know who could help." 

Well he certainly hadn't expected that, before he could ask for more details he heard the sounds of Leila stirring in the other room. Biting back a sigh he responded, "No need for apologies, Leila is already waking up. I will give you to her once she is ready."

From the other room her voice drifted with a sleepy rasp, obviously hearing her name, "Vlad? Who's on the phone?" Leila was awake which left no reason for him to stay in the sitting room, he moved back to their room before he answered. "Kira called and is asking for you." 

He watched in amusement as his lover stared in confusion, not expecting that any more than he had been. "Mencheres's Kira?" For half a second he debated answering with a sarcastic remark only to decide against it, Leila had only just woken up so he would give her a pass on the obvious answer to her question. He could see her wince, even half asleep she knew that question was redundant. Smiling at her, he handed off his phone before wrapping himself around her back once again. He wouldn't admit it but his curiosity was peaked, he rested his head on her shoulder as Leila began to speak.

"Kira? How can I help you?" From his vantage point he could hear Kira hesitate, "I'm sorry about interrupting your sleep. I'm trying to plan something for Mencheres, but I don't have any ideas what I actually want to do. I was hoping to brainstorm ideas with you, but if you're tired then please go back to sleep. I would completely understand." 

Leila glanced at the phone in complete bewilderment, her thoughts slid across his almost word for word what he had been thinking himself. Why is she calling me for this? The only relationship I've ever had is Vlad, and he is so far away from normal that I doubt I'll have any useful advice for her. 

Remembering that he could hear her thoughts she shot him an apologetic look, sorry I meant that in the best way possible. Vlad chuckled, he knew what she had meant and she was correct. Their relationship was far from ordinary, but he could tell from her facial expression that she would do her best to help even if she had no basis for understanding to work from.

"It's fine. I'm always up for a good brainstorm although I should warn you that I have no experience in this either so it'll be like the blind leading the blind. So do you have any idea what kind of surprise you want to do?" After receiving a sheepish negative Leila sighed through her nose. When did I become someone people ask romantic advice from? Vlad stifled a chuckle in her shoulder, throwing a dark look at him she returned her attention to the phone.

"Well there's always the classics. Going somewhere romantic, setting up a room in your house all nice like and having a night in, obviously dinner isn't an option for you two…" Her ending statement roused another chuckle from her shoulder, rolling her shoulder to push Vlad off, she focused on Kira's reply. She wasn't use to anyone calling her for help, especially with something personal like this, she would do her best to help although it probably wouldn't be much…

"I thought about those, but none of them really jumped out at me. He can buy anything he wants so presents are difficult. From what I've seen he doesn't really have a preference for where we are, and I haven't found anything that he really likes to do. I want the surprise to be personal to him, to mean something, but I have no idea how to do that…" Leila could hear her frustration through the phone, looking into Vlad's eyes she answered sarcastically.

"Yeah, I more than understand how hard it is to surprise rich people. I considered trying to surprise Vlad on the return of one of his trips, but quickly binned the idea. His people can't keep a secret for shit and I would've had to have had help to set up what I planned." 

Vlad's eyebrows launched into his hair, his interest immediately peaked at this bit of knowledge. Leila replied in her thoughts as to not confuse Kira.

When we first started dating I had planned on waiting for you in your room with candles, chocolate, and whipped cream while wearing nothing but your coat. I was gathering the supplies when your people started questioning why I needed them, one of them guessed by how red my face got and began trying to bury me in different things to use instead of chocolate. It had already gotten around a portion of your people and I knew you would catch it from their minds before you even walked inside so I called it off. Made an excuse to the cook and they all dropped it, none of them have brought it back up since. She ended her thoughts with a shrug.

Vlad's eyes burned green at the imagery Leila had so perfectly painted for him, a slow smile curled his lips before he slanted his mouth over hers, taking his time to rile her up before pulling back. Standing up, he went in search of his pants. 

Seeing her dazed and confused look at his sudden departure Vlad explained as he slipped on a shirt. "You should have gone on with your plan, my staff know how to keep things like that a secret, but even if they hadn't I still would have shown my appreciation. Thoroughly and slow enough to have you begging for release." As he pulled his pants on he could smell her confusion over his getting dressed at such a late hour even over her new arousal.

"Your plan was a good one and you know how I hate to be wasteful of anything of high caliber. You have until I come back to help Kira with her plight. After that, you are mine." With that last statement, he turned and swept out of the room with his feet still bare. Leila watched the door in astonishment before the voice from the phone brought her back to the present, flushing when she realized that she had completely missed whatever Kira had said. 

"Sorry Kira, Vlad distracted me. We only have a few minutes at most to think of something, so we need to hurry. Have you considered something to do with his culture? It’s not often that he gets to experience things from Egypt right? That might be a good place to start."

Whatever Kira's reply was, Leila didn't notice it because just then Vlad walked back into the room. 'You didn't even give me a full minute to discuss ideas with her!' He shot her one of his smiles that promised hours of pleasure, "I never promised to give you a minute. I said you would have until I came back, I never put a time limit on when I would return." Cursing to herself, Leila quickly spoke before Kira could say anything else, "Hey I really have to go now, if you want you can call in six hours and we can talk more."

"Eight." Looking at Vlad in confusion, Leila opened her mouth to ask only to be cut off. "Eight hours, possibly ten." Surprise and lust rolled through Leila at the look of dark promise in his eyes. 

"Kira, make that ten hours." Before she could say anything else Vlad was in front of her, she could vaguely hear Kira thanking her, but Vlad's hand quickly snapped out and ended the call, tossing the phone to the side before removing the whipped cream and strawberries from behind his back. "Now then, I have some minor alterations to your plan.."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kira rolled the idea around in her head, it sounded better than anything she had come up with that's for sure. Decision made, she thanked Leila, not mentioning her sudden rush to end the conversation, and hung up before she could be an unwilling audience to a heated moment between Leila and Vlad. Stifling a chuckle, Kira started toward the laptop to do her research, apparently Vlad was just as insatiable as Mencheres was.

It took over two weeks of careful planning but with Gorgon, Leila and Vlad's help the surprise was set. After she had waited the ten hours to call Leila back, they fine tuned their plan. Vlad had offered both vital information on Ancient Egyptian customs as well as offering to pull Mencheres away for the day to give her time to get everything ready. 

While overjoyed that it was all coming together, Kira was curious why Vlad was helping so readily, she should have expected his reply. "Mencheres is my honorary sire and I want to see him happy, your plan will most certainly achieve that. What is required of me isn't a massive obligation so there is truly no reason not to offer my aid." 

Kira felt warm at how loyal Vlad was to Mencheres, she was very glad he had Vlad through what his last clusterfuck of a relationship. Before she could thank him for his help he went on, replacing her appreciation with humor. "Also, Leila told me that she would make it worth my effort should I help you. I would have even if she hadn't, but only a fool turns away from what she offered and I am no fool."

Fighting a chuckle at the memory, Kira raced around the room getting everything into position. For the most part she stuck to the traditional candle lit bedroom with a bath waiting for both of them, but she added something extra. Vlad had mentioned that in Ancient Egypt poetry had been big in the courting scene. Kira hadn't written poetry since she was in grade school, but for Mencheres she had given it her best shot. Worst case scenario, he hated the poetry and she could salvage the evening with blistering sex, but she hoped that it wouldn't backfire on her.

Just as she was debating burning the poetry and sticking with the other plan, the sound of a car approaching broke her out of her thoughts. Now or never, Kira took an unnecessary breath and moved to sit on the rim of the tub. She could see where the slip of poetry waited on his pillow, giving her a perfect vantage point to see his reaction to it. She could see immediately if she needed to do damage control or not. 

Kira listened as Gorgon met Mencheres at the door, greeting him before heading out for his errands. That had been part of their plan, no matter how nice Gorgon was Kira didn't want him overhearing any of what was said. Whether it was going to be a humiliating rebuff or an extremely personal moment between them was yet to be seen.

The bedroom door opened, Mencheres came gliding in with a slight haste to his steps. Kira watched with her heart in her throat as his eyes landed on the note, walking the few paces to the bed before he picked it up to read it. Moment of truth time. Biting her lip, Kira waited for the change in his expression. His emotional wall was still up from his outing so she couldn't find out from their bond. 

As the seconds ticked by she grew more and more nervous. He wasn't reacting at all, why wasn't he reacting? Did he hate it like she thought he would? Dread coiled in her stomach, rising from the tub she moved toward their room, "I'm sorry if you don't like it, I was never very good at poetry in school and I doubt I got better with age. I-" Her next sentence was cut off, Mencheres had crossed into the room and wrapped her into a tight embrace.

Her face was pushed against his throat, his arms like steel bars keeping her pinned to his chest. Kira waited for him to speak, still unsure of his reception to the gift. Scenting her unease and doubt Mencheres pulled back enough to cup her face before capturing her mouth in a soul searing kiss. The last of her doubt over his liking the poetry disappeared when he pulled down his wall, allowing his emotions to flow freely over her own.

He wasn't talking because he had no words to describe what he was feeling. She could feel his gratitude as well as his overwhelming love. She made a mental note to thank Vlad for his suggestion of poetry. If that was all it took to make him feel this blissfully happy then she would do her best to write so much poetry he grew sick of it. 

The poem wasn't anything special even after working on it for the last week, but it seemed to be more than enough to him. After she finished this surprise maybe she should start another poem, just to see him this happy again.

After a few more minutes of passionate kissing Mencheres pulled back to look into her eyes, to her shock they had a pink sheen over them. Quickly reaching out to swipe below his eye and catch the tear she looked at him with alarm. He swept his emotions along hers again to reassure her that he was okay, again she felt his gratitude, but there was something else there that she wasn't familiar with. It was a deep ache, but she had no idea where it came from or what caused it.

"I won’t ask how you knew about my peoples custom of gifting poetry to potential lovers, there is only one vampire who still walks the earth that would know that. The same vampire that called me unexpectedly asking for a favor, that inevitably pulled me away long enough for you to do this." Kira smiled sheepishly, nodding to his unasked question.

A smile tugged his lips as amusement threaded through their bond, "I never would have guessed you would ask Vlad for help with this, but I am very happy with the outcome. It has been centuries since I have had indulged in anything of my culture. This was a welcome reminder of some of the happier times in my younger life."

Suddenly, Kira understood the previous ache. He hadn't had anything from his home in what was probably longer than Vlad had lived. Her gift was the first in a millennia to adhere to his cultures rules of courtship instead of modern day ones. How much must it hurt? To know your old home has changed so drastically that you wouldn't recognize anything if you were to go home? That there was no one still alive besides him from his time as pharaoh?

Kira remembered that her surprise wasn't over yet and with a smile she slid her hands up into his hair, tugging on the hair at the base of his neck. His eyes changed to a familiar brilliant green, his hands slid around her back trailing down to her hips. "The poem isn't the only part of the surprise, come on. I promised to spoil you didn't I? Well prepare to be spoiled within an inch of your life. "

Gently separating, Kira intertwined their fingers before tugging him back toward the bathroom where the tub waited. She watched as he took his first glance around, and froze once more. Kira had read that Egypt greatly valued flowers and their meanings. She had found the Egyptian national flower as well as the one that meant everlasting love and ordered them to be delivered while he was away. 

The air smelled sweetly of pollen and a scent unique to the flowers. Mencheres deeply inhaled, eyes closing as he took in the familiar scents. Kira had placed the potted flowers carefully around the bathroom in prime spots so they would receive enough sunlight while still being optimal viewing positions.

By the look of rapture on his face, she could safely say she had hit the nail on the head with her guess that he would appreciate their smells. In the next blink Kira found herself once again in his arms only this time his hands were quickly shedding her of her clothes. His mouth captured her own before she could question him. Once they were both naked he lifted her into the steaming bath she had drawn, before lowering himself behind her.

"You know, this wasn't part of my plan but I think I like this better." Mencheres chuckled huskily against her ear, "And what was this plan you hatched Dark Lady?" Kira felt his mouth brushing the shell of her ear, how could he expect her to think when he did that?! Another chuckle before he pulled back, allowing her mind to work enough to answer his question.

"I was planning on washing your hair while you soaked, drying you off and then brushing it out before dragging you to the bed to have my wicked way with you. Or for you to have your wicked way with me, I wasn't terribly picky on that part."

"You can still do all of that while joining me in the bath, if you can’t reach something I will be happy to assist you." He proved his point by using his power to levitate the shampoo into her hand. Kira turned around so she was straddling his lap, her knees on either side of his hips. 

Seeing his serene smile made something in her turn into a puddle of goo, her surprise had been wildly successful and she couldn't wait to start planning the next one. Focusing back onto the present, she squirted some shampoo into her hand before gesturing for him to lean forward. She should have expected his next action, but she his easy capitulation up until this point had made her relax.

Mencheres surged forward to capture her mouth once more, taking his time in exploring every inch of it before doing it over again. Kira had to remind herself of what she was doing twice before she managed to bring her soapy hands to his hair. Starting at his scalp she gently massaged it in, a thrill shot through her at his rumbling groan. As she worked her way through his hair, undoing all the knots as she went, she watched as her older than dirt vampire seemed to turn to putty in her hands. 

His torso leaned forward as if wanting to press every inch of his skin against hers, but his head leaned back against her hands. Once his hair was thoroughly soaped she took care in washing the suds out of it, placing her hand over his eyes to guard them. 

She could feel his amusement over her careful ministrations, her own mouth twitched up in shared happiness. "Yes I know you're a bad ass older than dirt vampire and you can handle a little soap in your eyes, but I don't care. I refuse to let anything hurt you while I am fully capable of preventing it, even if it is something as minor as this. Nothing is going to hurt you as long as I'm here to stop it."

Mencheres felt as his heart twisted in his chest at her declaration, gods this woman would be the death of him. But, as his hands pulled her down into another kiss that conveyed only the bare minimum of his emotions, he found himself thinking, what a way to go.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________

It was a sunny day out by the pool, Kira sat basking in the sunlight and lightly dozing under its warmth. She was waiting for Mencheres to finish his top secret errand that he refused to tell her about until he finished it. The topic had been brought up a week ago by Mencheres, he told Kira that he would have to leave her alone for a few days to go and retrieve something. 

She of course didn't mind but when she asked what all he was retrieving he told her that it was a surprise and she would get nothing else out of him. Although, he had told her she was welcome to try her best to extract the information from him. Which is exactly what she did for the rest of the days until his departure, to both of their enjoyment.

It was now the day he had said he would be back and her curiosity had only grown since his leaving. What could he be setting up that required he be gone so long? Her thoughts were interrupted by the very person who had been their main focus.

Kira felt as his familiar power washed over her, his own personal homing beacon. Debating for a moment, she decided to stay reclining. His surprise might be something he needs to sneak past her and it was no fun if she learned what it was earlier than planned. He had gone through so much already for whatever he was planning so it wouldn't be right of her to accidentally spoil it. While she had joked about extracting the information from him, she truly didn't mind the thought of a surprise from him. 

It made her giddy to think that he was setting something up solely for her. After her last disaster of a relationship she had never hoped to find someone who cared about her enough to do things like that. So as long as he didn't go overboard with the gifts Kira had no problem enjoying his attentions.

The power nudged at her and she could feel a slight alarm along the bond that she shared with Mencheres. He had found her, but apparently her current position, prone and lying on the concrete, worried him. No wonder, she didn't have a heartbeat for him to track so he couldn't know if she was merely relaxing or if she had passed out from the sun. 

Quickly she sat up, not wanting him to worry needlessly. She felt as the alarm faded and his power receded, she could hear as he started toward her at a steady clip. She could smell his impatience from her spot and it made her grin impishly. 

This was the first time he had been away from her for more than a day since the debacle with Radje. It appears that he had grown accustomed to her presence, not that she could comment. The minute he had left she had felt lonely, to her disbelief. She used to live alone and days would go by without her socializing outside of work, and yet there she had sat feeling lonely after only a few minutes without Mencheres. Their relationship had changed both of them, that was for sure.

In the second it took Mencheres to come around the front of the house Kira had stood up and linked her hands behind her back, rocking back on her heels in happiness. Coming to a halt a few inches from her Mencheres opened his arms invitingly, an invite which she quickly took advantage of. 

Flinging her weight against his chest she wrapped herself around him before resting her head in the crook of his shoulder, smelling his now familiar and welcome scent filling her nostrils. She felt his chest vibrate with a chuckle at her enthusiasm before his arms wrapped tightly around her back, succeeding in pinning her to his chest. An inward breath near her forehead told her that he had missed her scent just as much as she had missed his.

"While I don't regret leaving since it was necessary for your surprise, I do wish I wouldn't have had to stay gone for so long." The words were a puff of air against her ear, making her squirm before he released her back onto her feet.

"I completely agree with you on that. I'm not use to needing anyone but Tina so it's a learning curve for both of us." Kira found herself reluctant to completely part with him, even after they separated from their hug her hands stayed around his shoulders to play with his silky hair. One of these days she would have to see if he would let her brush it out for him, she doubted he would let her braid it so she would settle for brushing it.

She could feel curiosity over the bond before Mencheres spoke, "Why are you out here in the sun? While you are strong for a new vampire, you are still young. Your skin has already developed a burn from lying how you were." Even as he mentioned it she could feel the burnt skin pulling slightly on her back and neck, both fully exposed due to the swimsuit she was wearing. 

She must have lost track of time while she was dozing, it was endearing that he worried about her, but she had to remind him every now and then that she was an adult and could handle her own health.

"I actually came out to swim, but the sun made me drowsy so the plan changed to taking a nap. I must have lost track of time, the burn isn't too bad. You don't have to worry so much you know? I did watch out for myself for over a decade without any help." She made sure to put affection into her tone toward the end. 

She had learned that Mencheres was very sensitive to changes in mood. He seemed to expect her to lash out at him over the smallest things. If she thought any deeper on it Kira knew it all tied into his ex-wife and if she started thinking about what she did to Mencheres over the years there was no way Kira would be able to stop herself from growling. Its fine, she reminded herself, after all he is with me now and I will never treat him like that. She hadn't known what she had, but I do and I will cherish him how he should have been cherished for the past four millennia.

Mencheres watched as a series of emotions flitted across Kira's face, he didn't need to smell her to know she had been thinking of his ex wife although how his statement had made her think of her was lost to him. Whenever Patra crossed Kira's thoughts her scent would go sour with anger before sweetening to determination and her eyes would darken drastically with a flash of green in them before settling into that steely stare that would no doubt unsettle many in the future. 

Her stare promised both love and devotion, making his chest tighten briefly at the intensity of her feelings. He smiled down at his dark lady, yes Kira took very good care of him in every regard and he fully intended to return the favor for as long as they both shall live. Speaking of returning the favor…

"I'm sure you are curious about your surprise, let's be off so you can finally slate your curiosity." Taking his offered arm, Kira glided into step next to him as they walked back to the house. They were halfway when he stripped out of his coat before placing it over her shoulders. 

Sending him a curious glance she wrapped it tighter around herself. "You look ravishing in that swimsuit, but I don't want to have to punish any of the staff for acting inappropriately." He gave a little shrug of his shoulders to punctuate his statement, as if it didn't matter one way or the other to him, but Kira knew better. 

If he was mentioning it then it was bothering him and she wanted him to feel comfortable telling her anything that upset him, no matter how minor. Kira sent him an exasperated smile before buttoning his coat. It was an easy enough request to fulfill and if it made him feel more at ease then she would make sure to remember that the next time she went swimming.

Dropping a kiss to her hair, Mencheres sent gratitude across their bond as they entered the house, heading upstairs to their room. If he had tried to ask Patra to cover herself she would have become enraged with him before wearing even more scandalizing dresses just to prove that she could. 

It was still novel to Mencheres that Kira listened to his opinions without judgment or reprimand even when his thoughts weren't something she necessarily agreed with. Case in point, he had been displeased with her for forgetting her own health in the sun, but even as she told him that he shouldn't worry over her he could see that she wasn't going to do so again. 

While she didn't always enjoy his worrying, she did take it into account and would change her actions if she deemed it necessary. Having a partner who listened to his council and didn't gift him with scorn in return was both a very new and very comforting concept; one that he would more than happily embrace for the rest of their lives.

As he stole a glance at her clad only in his coat and her swimsuit he felt a thrill roll up his spine, it had only been days since he last had her in his bed and yet it had felt like years. Another reason, one of many, that he would do his best to not be away very often. 

As they approached the door to their bedroom Mencheres waited in anticipation for Kira to notice the first step to his surprise waiting for them.

Kira could feel Mencheres anticipation, but saw no reason for it. She had assumed they were stopping by their room for her to change and then head to the surprise, but maybe he wanted to make a pit stop at the bed first? He may have only been gone a few days, but that was a few days too many if she were to listen to her libido. Opening the door, Kira expected to be led to the bed with one of his soul searing kisses, but instead she pulled up short in the doorway at what waited inside.

Sitting on the bed was a Mastiff puppy with a light blue ribbon wrapped around its neck, tied into a bow behind one of its ears. The puppy's attention immediately swiveled to her when she entered, its little tail beat rapidly against the bedspread, showcasing its excitement at seeing her. 

Before she could ask the question on the tip of her tongue, the puppy decided that it wanted to meet her right that second. With no hesitation it vaulted off the, much too high for it to land unharmed, bed. Kira felt a spear of panic before moving quickly to catch the squirming bundle. 

Once the puppy was safely in her arms and happily licking her face she released a sigh of relief. Upon a closer inspection Kira found a rolled up piece of paper attached to the makeshift collar. Sitting down on the bed, squirming puppy in her lap, she glanced up at Mencheres who was leaned against the now closed door with a smile on his face. Catching her eyes, he gestured to the paper. Shrugging Kira balanced the now obviously girl puppy in her arms while she opened the paper.

At first she didn't know what it was, it was a diagram of something but for the life of her she couldn't see what it was. She felt as Mencheres sat next to her, sensing her confusion he explained. 

"One of the reason I had to leave was I wanted Leila's thoughts on what I should do for your surprise. You two seem to have gotten closer over the past months, what with you two planning out my own surprise. I thought she may have some idea of what you would want and this is what we came up with. Those are the basic plans to a greenhouse in which we will grow anything you desire; fruit, vegetable, or flower. It matters none to me, if you wish to we can begin to plan a design for it today and shop for the supplies ourselves. I was reliably informed that it would be more special if we did all of this together. If you don't like it then there is no harm in telling me, I will think of somethi-."

Kira knew it was rude to interrupt him, but he seemed so unsure of her approval. She was struck speechless and had no idea how to word what she was feeling, but there was one way she could show him just how much she approved of his surprise. A garden that they build from planning all the way to actually placing everything was a perfect idea! It could be their personal space whenever they need to get away from the world. Kira's chest warmed as she launched herself at Mencheres chest, surprising him and knocking both of them back onto the bed much to the protest of the very startled puppy.

Mencheres previous nerves dissipated with her enthusiastic response; apparently Leila had been spot on with her idea. His mouth was captured in a scorching kiss before he could speak, Kira's hand burying themselves into his hair and lightly tugging on his scalp. Releasing a pleased sigh, he relaxed into the mattress as his dark lady ravished his mouth as if it was the last time she would get to do so. A muffled yipping made them pull back, the pup who had been previously squished between them jumped to sit alongside them.

Stifling a chuckle, Kira patted the poor pups head, "So who is this little one?" Mencheres reached out and caught her hand mid stroke, his hand completely engulfing her own. His fingers stroking along her knuckles momentarily distracted her before his voice pulled her attention back to him.

"She is the other reason my errand took so long. I have seen how you play with the Mastiffs and thought you would enjoy one of your own. All of the dogs I own are from the same line and all male to negate the risk of interbreeding. This little girl is from a similar line to the ones I own, but they share no ancestry, so if you ever chose to breed her you can without concern. I take it you enjoy both halves of your surprise?"

Kira carefully placed the puppy, which she made a mental note to name at the earliest convenience, down on the floor before straddling Mencheres, his hands coming to rest on her hips as she sat up on her knees. Her lips slid across his forehead, leaving a trail of light kisses in their wake. Another sigh wrestled from Mencheres lungs as he enjoyed her actions to the fullest.

"I absolutely love the surprise and I can't wait to start planning everything with you, but for now I am going to show you just how much I appreciate all the thought that you put into this." As she sank down into his lap, hands sliding to remove his clothes at a brisk pace, Mencheres claimed her lips in a passionate kiss. Seeing how happy she was with his surprise made warmth roll through his no longer beating heart, as she took his collarbone in her teeth determined to leave a mark there, he made a mental note to visit Vlad and thank Leila for her suggestion at the earliest convenience.


	3. Vlad and Leila's First Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vlad and Leila celebrate their first Christmas together. Unforeseen complications arise in old painful memories coming to light, family drama, and a new enemy challenging Vlad. How will they handle it and will they get to celebrate Christmas together? There will be 6 parts to this one-shot because it just kept on writing itself.

Vlad had never expected to actively seek out Leila's sister Gretchen of his own free will for any reason, but for what he wanted to know she was the only one besides Leila herself who might have the answer and he had a nagging feeling that the answer wasn't one she liked to think on.

For the past week, Leila had been withdrawn and almost dazed. He had originally assumed it was due to Martin not being here to celebrate with her, which Vlad could do nothing, but comfort her over. However, yesterday he had been discussing possible plans for the holiday and Leila had let it slip that she had never really celebrated since her mother's death. When he had asked further she had looked at him with a faraway gaze before a haunted look flashed across her eyes. She had changed the subject instead of answering and he had allowed her to. That alone was enough to warn him that something was wrong, but Leila had also been acting odd lately. At seemingly random times she would become lost in her own thoughts, unaware of her surroundings until she snapped back out of it. He could think of nothing that would cause this reaction in his wife and his frustration was full to boiling.

Leila's dodging of the question left him with only one other source of information. With any luck, Gretchen would know why she was acting like this and he could lift Leila's spirits.

As he stopped in front of Gretchen's temporary room, he sighed before fortifying himself and knocking. The door opened not a minute later to the face of a very surprised Gretchen, obviously she had been expecting her sister. "Uh hi?"

Fighting a smile at her uncertain greeting Vlad gestured to the room as he spoke, "Good evening, I'm sure you are curious as to why I have sought you out. If you were to invite me in I will be happy to explain my reasoning." Just noticing that she had been essentially standing there with her jaw hanging open she quickly stepped to the side with a quiet acceptance.

Once they were settled comfortably he wasted no time, "Lately Leila has been acting odd, when I ask after her behavior she changes the subject, but not before her eyes glaze over. Do you have an idea of what is affecting her like this? I have a suspicion it has something to do with the holiday, but she refuses to either confirm or deny it."

Gretchen's mouth formed a circle as understanding flashed across her mind, a slow smile spread across her face. "You really care about my sister, don't you?" Vlad sighed internally, he had been hoping that she would simply answer his question without getting side tracked, but that was foolish of him. He chose his words carefully, out of the remaining members of Leila's family Gretchen was the only one who even mildly approved of their relationship. If possible, he would like to keep her opinion of him positive. He wanted Leila to have all the support she could from her family, even if most of it despised him for one reason or another.

"Yes, I care about her a great deal. I thought marrying her would have made that obvious, but apparently not. Her behavior as of late has me worried and I need to know what is causing it as to help."

Gretchen smiled at his answer, even the sarcastic portion, before the smile slid off her face to be replaced with the same look Leila had been sporting for the past week. In that instant, Vlad knew that Gretchen did have the information he wanted and that he wasn't going to like what it was.

Gretchen affirmed his thought when she spoke, her tone low as if she didn't want to be overheard. "Well you were right about it having to do with the holiday, although by the sound of it you don't know what exactly happened. I'm not surprised, Leila hates talking about it. She hasnt brought it up even once to me over the past decade. I don't like talking about it either, but...you need to know so I'll tell you."

Here she paused, collecting herself for what was obviously going to be a painful discussion, Vlad had to bite back his urge to snap at her to spit it out. While he hated the suspense, Gretchen was reliving a painful memory so that Leila wouldn't have to. He could wait until she got her words together.

Thankfully, she only needed a moment. "There is no delicate way of saying this so I'm just going to say it bluntly. You know about Leila's suicide attempt right?" Her question shocked him into silence, of all the things he had expected this was not one he had considered. Her attempt on her life had something to do with her current mood? A chill of icy fear rolled through his spine, before he forced his attention back to Gretchen. He needed to hear all of the information available before deciding if he should be worried.

At Vlad's nod, Gretchen continued. "Well it was Christmas Eve, two years after Mom's death. I always went over to a friends house for the holidays because after Mom died it just wasn't the same. Dad refused to celebrate any holiday, I don't know what exactly he use to do but I know that Leila would be edgy for a few days after Christmas. She never told me why, only that Dad wasn't someone she wanted me around during the holidays. I never pushed her on it, until that year."

A sinking feeling settled in his stomach as Gretchen went on, what she was describing sounded dangerously like Hugh had physically harmed Leila and if that were the case nothing would keep him from killing the man. It would make sense why Leila refused to talk to him about it, she knew how he would react to the knowledge of her abuse. She also had avoided the story behind her suicide attempt, he had never asked and she never told. He knew that at least part of her reluctance to talk about it was due to his former wife's death.

Leila wouldn't want to bring up his painful memories on top of her own. Biting his tongue as to not interrupt Gretchen before she finished, Vlad gripped his hands tight enough to grind his bones together as he waited for the rest of the story.

"Apparently her and Dad had it out over something, I still don't know over what. All I know is that when I came home because I forgot something, Dad's car was gone and when I went into the room Leila and I shared it was trashed. A laptop that we used for watching movies on was broken and CDs were strewn around the room. At first I thought we were robbed or something, I started freaking out and calling for Leila. Not my smartest move, I know, but I wasn't thinking clearly at the moment. When I had raced through the house and checked all the rooms I really started to panic, only to hear something from the bathroom."

Her eyes brimmed with tears as the memory of finding her larger than life big sister lying in a pool of her own blood with deep lines cut into her wrists and a bloody knife sitting not far from her played through her mind.

"She was curled up in the bathtub, both wrists cut almost to the bone and pale as a sheet. When I first saw her I thought she was already dead. I don't remember screaming but later our neighbors say that they called the cops because of it so apparently I did. I stopped the blood flow the best I could, but in my panic I forgot to call the ambulance. Thankfully, my scream had assured it being called along with the police. By the time they got there I thought it was too late, but the doctors told me that they made it in time, but not by much. After they took her away the police questioned me about who I was, who she was, and where our father was. Of course I only had a few answers and I'm not sure if I was even speaking clearly through my shock, but eventually they finished and told me that until my father was contacted I would be going with them. As we went to leave I saw something else in the bathtub, Leila must have had it wrapped into her arms before they took her because I couldn't see it before."

Here she paused, tears finally leaking out of her eyes as she looked into Vlad's eyes. "It was a stuffed bear Mom had made her for when she was pregnant. It was ugly as sin, but Leila loved that thing. For some reason the sight of it covered in blood is what finally broke me out of my shock. I broke down sobbing and refused to move. The police had to sedate me to get me to go with them. Leila spent Christmas Eve and Day in a hospital, being poked and questioned about her mental health while I was trapped in the police station without any information on how she was doing. It was hell all around. Eventually the police got ahold of Dad, who had driven to the bar to cool off after their argument. They questioned him about Leila, her mental health, our current situation, our mother's death, and a lot more things. After a few more hours Child Protection Services stepped in and took Leila and I until the police could sort everything out. It took Dad months to clear up what happened and get me back, but it took him even longer to get Leila back. I think that most of the strain in their relationship now is from whatever happened back then. I'm sorry but that's all I know. You would have to ask Leila for anymore details."

Vlad could faintly feel himself thank Gretchen for her time, before leaving the room to give her time to compose herself. As he walked without a destination, his rage rose to a dangerous degree. He had known that Hugh had been emotionally distant but he had never expected this level of negligence. It was very lucky for him that Vlad had already sent him home or he would have found himself decorating a pole in Vlad's dungeon for many years to come.

Vlad knew intimately his list of flaws, but despite how long that list was he had always made sure that his son knew that he was loved. He knew the pain of losing a child and wishing more than anything to go back just to hold them one more time. Over the centuries he had seen all sorts of depravities done by parents toward their children and it never ceased to enrage him, but the knowledge that his wife's father more than likely had a hand in her suicide attempt made fire blaze up his arms.

He forcibly pushed the fire back into his skin, he needed to have his suspicions confirmed before he made any plans for Leila's father. Decision made, he turned in the direction of their room. He hadn't wanted to ask Leila about an obviously painful subject, especially so close to the holidays, but he needed to know the truth and it couldn't wait.

Determination made his strides quicker, stopping just outside the familiar door. He could hear Leila getting ready for bed inside, not surprising given the hour. Taking a deep breath, Vlad tried to rein in his anger. The last thing he wanted was for it to be misdirected at Leila when he was going to be prying into a very sensitive subject already. Once he felt in control of his emotions, he opened the door and joined his wife.

Leila glanced up and smiled at her husband, the previous dazed look disappearing from her features. Her smile dropped after a glance over Vlad though. She couldn't put her finger on what exactly seemed off about him, but there was something definitely wrong. His wall was up so she couldn't feel anything although she dearly wished she could have that hint into his thoughts right now. Standing from her previous place sitting on the bed, she spoke. "Is everything alright?"

One second Vlad was at the door and the next he was standing next to her with one of the most intense stares she had ever seen directed at her. She had a sinking feeling she knew what had him in such a weird mood. His attempts over the last few days to ask about her behavior and his earlier admittance that he was going to ask her sister something made it plain. At the time she had thought he was going to Gretchen for gift ideas, but now she knew better.

"No, everything is not alright. I just concluded my meeting with your sister and she enlightened me to a few very important details you hadn't mentioned about the Christmas holiday." Here he paused, giving her time to interject, only for Leila to look away in guilt. Coming to stand in front of her, he cupped her face and lifted her eyes to his own. "I am not angry with you for your refusal to tell me. This topic is a painful one and usually I would leave you to tell me whenever you felt you could, but this is hurting you and until I know more, I can't help you."

He stroked her face with his thumbs, bringing his other hand up to join the first. Leila's mouth twisted, her eyes locking with his own after a moment of hesitation. Vlad could see the play of emotions in them, the pain of her father's past and present rejections, the loneliness that had haunted her after the accident, and the sorrow that had led her to attempt to take her own life so many years ago. Leila released a shaky sigh, briefly closing her eyes. When she opened them, they were filled with resigned tears. "Tell me what you already know, I'll add in details from there."

Relief poured through Vlad's body, he had been worried that she would refuse to tell him or become angry with him for pushing despite her obviously not wanting to talk about it.

Knowing that this discussion was going to be difficult for her, Vlad did the only thing he could do to make it easier. He dropped the wall that blocked off their bond, letting her feel the waves of his love for her and his relief that she was telling him. "Would you prefer to lay down or sit before we begin this conversation?"

Leila shivered as his love wrapped around her like a security blanket, his warmth seeping into the parts that she had thought would never feel warm again. His question made her smile, yes he was going to push her to answer his previous question, but he also acknowledged that it wasn't easy for her. He needed the information to help her, but he was going to do his best to comfort her while she told him. "Yeah, it would probably be a good idea to sit down for this."

Vlad leaned back against the headboard, leaving both the spot in between his legs and the one to his side open for her choice. Leila only had to think for a second before climbing into his lap, leaning halfway against him and the headboard with her legs thrown over his own. His arm lifted to wrap around her shoulders, while his other hand encompassed both of her own. The rhythmic stroking against her palm calmed her, as much as anything could calm her in the given situation. Leaning her head back, she nodded for him to start.

Vlad gave the basic outline of what he had learned from Gretchen, never ceasing in his stroking knowing how much it helped her. When he finished he waited as Leila mentally put together her words. The biggest downside to her changing over had been him no longer being able to read her mind when she had difficulty saying things, but he knew that if he was patient she would find the words.

Sure enough, a few minutes later Leila's eyes opened and locked once again with his. The pain was still there, but now there was a determination as well. The sight sparked pride in his chest, his wife's spirit was one of the things he loved about her and now was no exception.

"Before I say anything I want you to promise not to kill, maim, harm, or otherwise mentally or physically injure my father or allow anyone else to do so with your knowledge." A curse flew from Vlad before he could bite it back. His eyes glowed green as his previous suspicions about Hugh were at least partially confirmed. Leila wouldn't have felt the need to wring this promise from him if he had never harmed her. Seeing her expectant look, Vlad reluctantly agreed, despite the burning need to hunt down the man who had caused so much suffering in his wife's life. Leila nodded with satisfaction before starting to explain.

"Gretchen was right, when Mom died Dad changed. Before he always enjoyed celebrating Christmas with all of us, but after… Well he refused to let either of us celebrate at all. No tree, no decorations, no baking, no nothing that would remind him of Mom. I always figured that Gretchen left for her friend's house so she could celebrate in peace, but I didn't have anywhere else to go. With my special condition I hadn't risked making any friends, scared that I would hurt someone. So every Christmas I would stay home, hole myself up in my room and in general act like I didn't exist. The first Christmas after Mom's death was the worst, but not the one I tried kill myself during. All of the memories felt like they were ripping my heart out all over again, and somehow not seeing any small reminders of my mothers life made it so much harder. I wanted to hear her one more time, or to see a picture of her to not forget her face. Anything, anything at all to make that gaping hole in my chest feel even slightly filled. Dad had taken down all of the pictures with her in them and shoved them into a trunk in the attic, along with all the movies she had made of us."

Vlad tightened his hold on Leila as she trailed off, he had a feeling he knew where this was going. Gretchen's description of the destroyed room and the laptop coming back to him in a blaze of anger. He dearly wished that she hadn't made him promise not to harm her father because Vlad knew that before this conversation was over he would be burning with rage that he couldn't take out on its rightful target. Forcing himself to show none of this, and to keep as much of it out of the bond as possible, he offered what comfort he could as she continued.

"I decided that I wanted to hear her voice again and nothing was going to stop me, not even Dad. I went up to the attic and brought a few homemade movies down and the laptop. I told myself that just because Dad wanted to forget my mother didn't mean I would, she deserved better than that. So I holed up in my room for the entirety of Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day, watching birthdays, school plays, and whatever else I happened to grab that had my mother in it. Needless to say, I cried like a baby whenever she came on screen, but it was all I had left of her so I grabbed it with both hands."

The tears fell at the memory of seeing her mother's face on the camera while knowing that was the only time she would ever see it again. She felt more than saw Vlad run his thumb under her eyes, swiping away the tears that fell, but not saying a word. He knew that she needed him not to interrupt, if he did, there was no way she could finish this. Shooting a wobbly smile his way Leila forced herself to push through.

"Dad just assumed that I was mourning alone so he left me to it, he was too busy drinking to care anyway. That would become normal for the holidays in the coming years, but at the time it was a startling change in my father who refused to drink more than wine glass. Whenever he drank like that I felt scared of him, I never knew why until the second Christmas after Mom's death."

Vlad felt his muscles tense, anticipation mixed with dread at finally finding out what had caused his wife to try to end her own life at the tender age of fourteen.

"As I'm sure you've guessed by what Gretchen told you, Dad found out about what I was doing and he was not happy. He raged at me for going against his order to leave the stuff in the attic. He had already been drinking so I could smell the crap on his breath which made me even more on edge. Dad never shouted, but he was on full volume as he tore me a new one. I cut him off during his tirade, a big mistake on my part as I would soon know. I told him that he had no right to order me to forget my mother existed simply because he had decided to do that. I also said he had no right to take her memory from me, especially considering that he hadn't been faithful to her for years if the letter was anything to go by. I didn't even see it coming when he hit me. One second I was standing in front of him, the next I was across the room with a bleeding head, a throbbing cheek, and a new fear of my father. He seemed just as surprised as I was that he had hit me, but he shook it off pretty quick. He broke the laptop and scratched up all of the CD's I had out. He told me that now I couldn't disobey his order because he had destroyed all of the stuff I had of my mother. Those weren't all of the videos and he must've been too drunk to remember the photos but I wasn't about to correct him. He went to hit me again, but when he did I was pulled into his worst sin. With crystal clarity I knew that my father blamed me for my mother's death. When I came out of the vision he was gone and I was alone. I'm sure I don't need to tell you why that was a bad thing. Looking at the remains of the videos, the destruction in the room, my own injuries, and the lingering knowledge that my father hated me for my mothers death put me into a very bad mental place. I didn't bother cleaning the room or myself up. I went back to the stuff I had brought down from the attic and found the only thing he hadn't destroyed was a stuffed animal my mother had made me. I took the bear and went to the bathroom. I don't know where I got the knife or where I got the idea to slice my wrists, all I knew was that everything hurt and the only person who I knew could fix it was gone and she wasn't coming back. I convinced myself that there was no reason to stay alive, my father hated me and my sister acted like she did too so I decided that I wouldn't be living anymore. After I woke up in the hospital with social workers and police shooting non stop questions at me I realised that my thinking was a bit flawed. Instead of thinking about my father or my sister, I asked myself what my Mom would have thought and the answer was sobering. My mother would have been destroyed if I had succeeded in killing myself, not to mention blaming herself every step of the way for me even attempting to. I told myself the day I woke up in that hospital bed that I would never listen to that damn voice again, no matter what happened."

The tears flowed freely and she made no move to stop them, while it had definitely hurt to remember that particular Christmas, it was also oddly relieving. She was glad that someone else knew the whole truth about what had happened back then, and who better than her husband? Speaking of her husband, he had been oddly quiet throughout her long explanation. Glancing up at him, she blinked in shock at the pain clearly displayed in his eyes. "What is it?" She didn't ask what was wrong, considering the current situation there was plenty wrong, better to ask what in particular was he looking so pained by.

Vlad picked her up and planted her squarely in front of him in his lap, her legs snaked around his hips and settling between his back and the headboard, her arms resting on his shoulders. "I was dangerously close to losing you before I even knew you. The thought that you could've been taken from me, that I would have never known the love I have for you, is a sobering thought. The thought that it would have been caused by your father's carelessness and neglect of you enrages me. You know how much I loved my son and after his death every missed opportunity, every embrace where I could have held on just a little longer, every cross word that had crossed my lips became an unbearable brand on my soul. I have seen many atrocities that parents have done to their children and they each enrage me no less, the thought that they have a child but so carelessly throw them away while I lost my own makes me burn inside."

Leila stroked her hands through his hair, offering what comfort she could. She would never know the pain of losing a child, but Marty had once told her it was the worst pain imaginable and everything Vlad had mentioned so far lined up with that estimate. She understood why seeing people take for granted what he had lost would enrage him, it even made her understand a bit more why he hated her father with the intensity that he did.

She was still glad that she had made him promise not to hurt him though, he had made a lot of mistakes raising her, but he was still her father. However he had made it plainly clear by refusing her invite for Christmas that he had no interest in repairing their relationship, so after the holidays were over she would make a point of visiting him one last time to cut it off in person. A clean break is what they needed, they weren't going to change and she was done being hurt by his words and actions.

Tugging lightly on his hair, Leila sat back to stare into his eyes. The copper was ringed with brilliant green and practically burned with the old pain of his loss. Trailing one hand down to his stubbled cheek, she stroked with her thumb. Smiling as his eyes closed and contentment brushed against her subconscious.

"I'll never know what pain you have to carry over the loss of your son, I've relived it through other people though and I understand why you detest my father and anyone else who would take their child for granted. I can't really understand but if you ever want to talk about him, or Clara for that matter, I will always be here to listen."

Vlad's mouth twisted into a sharp smile with a dash of older pain, "I know and I will keep that in mind. Tonight we have gone over too many sensitive topics, but later I will tell you of him, of them. They would deserve no less and if you so choose you can tell me more about your mother and Marty." Leila doubted she would be able to talk about Marty without bursting into tears anytime soon, but she might be able to talk about her mother. Vlad was right, those who were lost deserved better than to not be remembered for the wonderful people they were. Vlad's voice brought her back to the present.

"As for you understanding that pain? I never want you to. In all of my life and the many excruciating things that have been done to me, the loss of my child will always be the single most painful thing to have ever happened to me. I don't want you to understand, because first you would have to feel it for yourself."

Leila felt tears well again, only this time they were for Vlad not herself. He noticed the tears but didn't comment, knowing they weren't for pity. Choosing instead to wrap his wife tightly into his arms, he pulled himself away from thoughts of what he had lost with the physical reminded of what he still had. Leila's next sentence however had him pulling back in a mixture of wary hopefulness.

"Well you won't have to watch my father hurt me anymore. After the holiday is over I'm going to visit him and break it off. I thought that after the conversation on the plane we might be able to work it out, but Gretchen's changing over guaranteed that it isn't going to happen. He sent back a scathing letter when I invited him for Christmas, and I decided then that the hurt that caused would be the last he put me through. I'll finish this once and for all, but only after Christmas. This is our first Christmas together and I don't want it to be tainted by anything, his rejection, the painful memories of past Christmases, or Marty's absence. I know that both Mom and Marty would want me to enjoy myself, not be sad. Especially my Mom, she loved this time of year."

Again Leila trailed off, only this time alongside the pain she felt at remembering her mother she also felt some of the old warmth. Vlad watched Leila's eyes go far away again, only unlike the last few days, it didn't spark concern in him now. Thinking back he had seen her get that dazed look in the kitchens, when they were walking in the garden, and right here in this room. Curiosity tugged at him, pushing him to ask, "Feel free not to answer this if you don't want to. What were you thinking of the past few days when I found you distracted?"

Leila blinked in surprise at his question, taken off guard, before she thought back and smiled. "It's fine, I need to work on talking about them anyway. When we were outside in the garden I remembered the flowers my Mom use to plant with Gretchen and I during the spring, when we were in the kitchen the smell of cookies made me think of baking Christmas cookies with Mom before we set them out of Santa, and when we were getting ready for bed I was actually thinking about whether I should continue practicing my gymnastic routines without Marty. Most of them need a second person, but I don't think he would've wanted me to stop doing them because I can't do them with him anymore."

Vlad hadn't considered that she had merely been thinking on old memories, mostly of her mother. She had mentioned once that her mother had a skill for gardening and cooking but hasn't mentioned it since. As for her halt in her routines, he had assumed that she had either not felt like doing them or simply didn't need them. He hadn't thought about her lack of a partner affecting them. Stroking her hair, Vlad turned over an idea in his mind. She wanted their first Christmas to be special, she had said so herself, and he could make that happen for her.

"If you wish I can take the week off of work and we could enjoy the next week together doing whatever you wish. Possibly some of the traditions your family use to do?" Leila's head snapped up, while she was surprised at his offer she wasn't mad at him for making it. Biting her lip, she considered his offer thoroughly. The only traditions she could think of were baking the cookies, making the Christmas dinner, decorating the house and tree, as well as presents. She seriously doubted that Vlad the Impaler, the Eternal Prince of Darkness would want to bake cookies or any human food considering that neither of them could eat it. Did he even know how to cook? Deciding to start with that question and work her way forward, Leila spoke.

"I can't see you in the kitchen and baking cookies with me, or your staff not having a stroke at the sight of me making anything on my own. Do you even know how to cook? Since you wouldn't really need the skill?" Vlad's mouth twitched up into a crooked grin, amused that was her first concern that came to mind.

"Yes, I did know how to cook although I didn't use the knowledge often. As you know, I was a Prince and had other people to cook for me. However, it has been close to five centuries since I last made a dish though. As for my staff, I could give them the day off to spend with their families, many of them have spouses or in the human's cases children. Of those that choose to stay I could order them to leave us while we are in the kitchen."

Leila's previous surprise only increased as he kept talking. "Wait, this sounds like you're actually considering baking cookies with me, cookies that you won't eat. And possibly getting flour and batter all over you." Her confusion made Vlad bite back a laugh.

"While it is true that I won't eat them, you won't either but you still want to make them. I would have no objections to being seen in the kitchen with my wife during the holidays and I'm sure the staff will be more than happy to eat whatever cookies are made. I have already been seen playing in the snow only a few weeks ago, if that didn't damage my reputation beyond repair then possibly being covered in various ingredients won't finish it off either."

Leila's surprise melted into blissful happiness, her giddiness had a laugh bursting out before she could stop it. Vlad merely smiled back, glad to see his wife happy again after their morbid discussion even if it was slightly at his expense. Leila choked back her chuckles enough to respond, "I'm sorry, I just remembered how you looked when I first hit you with the snowball. You looked like I had shot you!"

Vlad's smile stretched even further as he too recalled the memory, "You would have surprised me less if you had. We were heading into a battle for our lives in hours and you decided a snowball fight was necessary." His chest rumbled with his answering chuckles at the memories. He had been sure that Mencheres would scold him for his childish actions, he had been surprised when not only did he not scold him, he joined in! Truth be told, they had all lost miserably against Mencheres but Vlad wasn't surprised by that. Although he distinctly remembered Leila hiding behind him more than once because his body heat melting the snow before it reached him made him the perfect shield.

The gleam in Leila's eyes said that she was remembering that too. "Do you think sometime in the next few days we could play in the snow again? That was a lot of fun! Maybe we could see who would win in a fair snowball fight, without Mencheres curb stomping all of us. Did any of us even land a single hit?"

Vlad shook his head, his wife would not be satisfied until his reputation was truly demolished. He couldn't believe he was considering playing in the snow with her, just because it was fun. If someone had told him even a year ago that he would be considering it, he would have killed them for their insolence. Now not only was he considering playing in the snow, he had agreed to bake cookies he wouldn't eat. Yes, his past self would have been both irritated and disgusted by what he was planning to do, but looking down at his beaming wife he couldn't find it in himself to care.

"Possibly, I will have a great deal to get done as to have the next week off, but I'm sure you will find time to drag me away. No, I don't think any of us made a hit, but that is no surprise to me. My honorary sire is no slouch, he has survived four millennia for a reason."

Leila's eyes bugged in shock, "Wait he is how old!? We had a 4,000 year old vampire playing in the snow with us? No wonder he stomped us, I'm just surprised he didn't scoff at us."

Vlad kissed her forehead, amused at her reaction. "Maybe now you can understand why I was so surprised at the time. I expected him to scold me but I should have known better. Mencheres may be old, but he has softened since meeting Kira."

Leila shook off her shock to look at him with a raised eyebrow, "Are you sure you want to be pointing fingers at him about softening since he met his lover?" Vlad flicked her ear playfully, smiling at her fake squeal of outrage before replying.

"I haven't softened even slightly and would appreciate you not spreading such lies. If I happen to be more affectionate with my wife, well who could blame me? I still hunt down and torture my enemies with the same ruthlessness, so there's no harm in it." Leila broke down in giggles at his mock outrage before he slid into a complacent tone.

"Okay, okay no need to take it personally. You're still my big, scary, bad ass vampire and you always will be. Better?" She barely finished her sentence when he had joined their mouths in a scorching kiss that when he pulled away left her feeling woozy. Smirking at her dazed expression Vlad stroked his hands down her arms.

"You are right on all counts, one of those points more so than the others." Before she could recover enough to ask what he was talking about, she found herself lying down on the bed with Vlad straddling her waist. "I am and forever will be yours. Whatever else I am, that will always be true and I will be sure to remind you of it in the future when I do something that aggravates you."

Leila turned to goo at his admission, for someone who said he wasn't good with pretty words he seemed to turn her into a puddle of happiness pretty easily with his. "You're right about all of that. You are and always will be mine, just like I'm yours and nothing will ever change that. I'll be sure to remind you of that too when I irritate you next." Wrapping her hands into his hair, she pulled him down into a steaming kiss. As they started shedding each others clothes, Leila had one last thought before her attention was thoroughly captured. 'This will be the best Christmas ever.'


	4. Vlad and Leila's First Christmas Part 2

The next morning Leila woke to the feel of lips sliding across the skin of her back. Cracking an eye open she glanced toward the owner of said lips, who was now smirking devilishly down at her. Vlad was hovering over her, his knees pressed tightly into her sides, using his body to trap her into place. Sending a drowsy smile back she bid him good morning, slowly stretching herself out, amused as his eyes followed each muscle as they moved. He shifted forward on his forearms, landing a kiss on her mouth briefly before pulling back to speak.

"I may have to begin my work later in the day from now on so I can enjoy this view on a more regular basis." His fingers trailed the muscles his eyes had previously followed, a shiver rolled through Leila at the feather light touches. Turning to wrap her arms around his neck, she tugged him down until he was resting completely on top of her before claiming his lips.

"I certainly won't complain, this is by far the best way I've ever woken up." Vlad rested his head next to hers on the pillow as he shifted his body to lay beside hers, running his fingers through her tangled hair. Leila's eyes slid shut in bliss, hearing and feeling Vlad chuckle she lightly elbowed him. "Hey don't judge me, your hands are magical."

Amusement flashed across his face before Leila cut off whatever arrogant comment that was sure to follow. "Yes, yes I know and they're magical in everything they do. What do we have planned for the day?" Noticing the obvious subject change, but choosing not to point it out, Vlad listed off what he had planned.

"We still have two days until Christmas which leaves us with picking out the trees we will be using for the halls, decorating them and the rest of the house, baking cookies, and picking out presents." As he ticked off the list Leila nodded along, still disbelieving that he was seriously going to do those things with her. She had expected to either celebrate alone or not celebrate at all, but this was much better.

"I don't have to worry about your present, I already have it picked out and wrapped." Vlad's eyebrows rose in question, Leila's face flushed at the unsaid question. "Well, just because I didn't think I would celebrate it doesn't mean that I didn't want to get you a present. I may not be religious, but you are and that is kind of an important part in the Christian faith." Accepting her answer without prodding, he could see she was uncomfortable with the subject so he changed it after a subtle squeeze of gratitude.

"Well then, that simply leaves me to get a present for you. While we are on the topic, what would you like? It is last minute so it may not be here in time for Christmas, but I doubt that you are the type to mind such things."

Leila shook her head, "You're right, I don't care about that but you don't have to get me anything. You get me gifts all the time, after all." Vlad had expected her to say something similar, ignoring her answer he slid his hands into her hair and gently massaged her scalp. Leila's eyes slid shut in bliss, he chuckled at her expression and the look of mock irritation she shot him.

"I get you gifts because I see things that I believe you would enjoy or that would look good on you. As you stated, part of Christmas tradition is to give presents to those we care for. You can't begrudge me that since you have already picked out my gift." Leila swatted at his hands half heartedly, he knew that she had trouble focusing when he did that. Rolling her eyes at his knowing smirk, she shrugged in acceptance.

"Honestly there isn't really anything I want. You're going to spend the week with me and that's the best present I've had in years." Vlad bit back a sigh, most women were easy to shop for, but not his. He had given his previous lovers jewelry or clothes and they had been well received. When he bought Leila such things, while she appreciated them, she did not truly enjoy them. She was like him in that way, while physical things are nice they are not generally anything special unless there was some sentimentality attached to them. They are things that anyone would own, making them not as appealing.

At a loss, he asked, "Is there truly nothing that you have wanted since you've come to stay with me?" Leila seemed to consider it before embarrassment slapped across her face. If she had still been human she would have flushed bright red. Intrigued now, Vlad questioned, "Now what was it you were thinking of that put that look on your face?"

Leila clammed up while trying to change the subject. "I'll appreciate anything you give me, you know that." As she went to stand, fully planning on making her escape, Vlad tugged her back down before pinning her below him.

""While I do know that, it is not what I asked. Why are you embarrassed about your thoughts? While I don't know any details of what you were considering, the look that was briefly on your face ensures I would enjoy it." Squirming slightly underneath him, Leila huffed out.

"You shouldn't say that until you know what my thoughts were, I doubt you'd be so flip if you knew." Her answer had Vlad's eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"As I told you when we first slept together, if there is something I don't enjoy I will tell you. Tell me what you would like to do and I will be sure to let you know if I am not agreeable."

Leila's embarrassment, which had been dying down, leapt to life once more. Just the thought of saying what she had been thinking of doing to him was enough to make her want to combust with nerves. Seeing her discomfort, Vlad sighed. "Would it make you feel better if I say one of the many things I have thought of doing to you?" Before Leila could speak up to stop him he began with a smirk firmly on his lips.

"I have thought of the many different ways and places I could take you and my favorite so far is this; you would be laid in front of the fire because I love how the light plays across your skin making it glow in an ethereal fashion. I would discover every inch of your skin there is to find with my fingers before following the path with my tongue. I would wind you up with desire to the point that you would beg for your release. My name will be the only word that you can remember by the time I am finished with you."

Seeing Leila's look of both embarrassment and arousal, Vlad laughed. "There, see? Anything you could say will be tame in comparison." Leila shook her head in disbelief, she should have expected that from her husband.

Hesitantly she started to detail what she was thinking, "I was thinking about you...tied to the bed with some kind of fabric. Nothing too strong, obviously! I don't want you to be unable to get out if you want to and I may have been thinking of bringing some ice cubes too? I use to think about using chocolate since your temperature would melt it, but now that I'm a vampire too..."

As her voice faded she still half expected him to get mad, after all, one of the things she had wanted was for Vlad to be the one tied down and Vlad wasn't the type to allow himself to be tied down even in any environment. Not that she could blame him, with his history. Vlad's expression cleared, his eyes bright green as a smile curled his lips up into a devilish grin.

"I will never be angry with you for simply asking for something you desire, especially if it entails what we do in bed. While I appreciate the reason you never asked, I would not have become enraged should you have done so. I know my own limits as well as my dislikes, if you ever suggest anything I wouldn't like, you will be told, but not angrily. In the future, have no fear of bringing requests of a sexual nature to my attention." As he spoke, Vlad stared straight into her eyes, silently reaffirming what he was saying. Leila's weariness melted away, giving way to a hesitant smile.

"As for your current request, I see no problem with it." Seeing her shock at his easy acceptance he continued, "You said you wanted me to be able to break free should the need arise. That tells me that while you want me at your mercy, you don't want me unable to break free should I need or want to." As he spoke he ran his fingers along her cheek, seeking to offer physical reassurance to his verbal claims.

"That is why I am agreeing to this, you want the illusion of me being at your mercy, but not the helplessness that would generally go with it. I will have the supplies ordered and shipped here in time for Christms." He watched in satisfaction as her eyes dilated at his agreement to go along with her wish, already imagining him in such a position. "Thank you."

Vlad rolled his eyes, "There is no need for thanks, your wish is something that benefits both of us, not only you."

"That's not what I'm thanking you for. Thank you for trusting me, something tells me that this isn't as small a thing to you as you're making it out to be." Vlad stiffened briefly above her before staring solidly into her eyes.

"The ties we are using I can easily break out of. However, as I'm sure you have guessed, I have never allowed myself to be tied down by a lover before, despite two of them requesting it of me. To a certain degree I am trusting you, but there is no need to thank me for it. We are married after all, I have trusted you with my life multiple times before, why wouldn't I trust you with my body?" Leila smiled up at him, happy that he would allow her this. Her mind pondered over his words before another question sprang to the front of her mind, she visibly hesitated which Vlad quickly noticed.

Seeing the look on her face, he spoke "I can see you have another question, so ask." Reminding herself of his promise to not get mad she bolstered herself.

"What are your limits? I don't want to test them or anything. I just want to know what to avoid..." Vlad shot her a smirk that hid something darker before replying.

"You have no fear of accidentally stumbling across any of my limits, but to put your mind at ease… Most of the things I do not enjoy are based around pain or humiliation, neither of which I need to fear with you, correct?"

Leila practically launched into her agreements, "Of course! What kind of twisted person would take any kind of pleasure out of making their loved one hurt?" Cutting off what looked to be an impressive tirade, Vlad sealed their lips together. Warmth bloomed in his chest at her vehement denial. If she had reacted in any other way at the thought of his pain then he wouldn't have trusted her with this. Besides, if she followed her fantasy it would be very rewarding for him to play along. In fact...

"I believe the kitchen has ice cubes. Part of your fantasy was to use my higher body temperature to melt them and then lick off the resulting patterns correct? It would be better to practice before Christmas, we must make sure we have it perfected for the big day. Don't you agree?" Still dazed from the kiss he had used to silence her, Leila nodded. Vlad chuckled before helping her up from the bed and guiding her by the arm to the kitchen in search of their entertainment for the morning. After they finished, Vlad knew he would have to bury himself in work until dawn to clear the rest of the following week to spend with Leila, but it would be worth it.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Vlad bit back what felt like the umpteenth sigh of the day as he put his most recently finished letter on top of the ever growing stack. It was worrying, usually he had very few of his line who stepped out of line and went against his rules, but lately it seemed like a day didn't pass without him being notified of another act of disobedience. He would have to gather his people to address this soon, the longer he waited, the more likely it would escalate into something worse. Right now it was simple acts of defiance, he could beat the living daylights out of those who were so insolent in front of an assembly of his people and the problem would solve itself.

However, to do so he would need to leave Leila for a few days and what with their plans for Christmas already set, he found himself reluctant. Even if they hadn't made any more plans than to lounge in bed on Christmas morning, after learning of how her Christmas was spent when she was a child the idea of leaving her alone even near Christmas was abhorrent. It would take him two days at least to assemble his people and hold the necessary event to publicly discipline the offenders.

There were only two more days before Christmas, he wouldn't be able to finish the assembly in time to spend it with Leila. He would have to wait until Christmas was over before starting the preparations, leaving immediately after Christmas instead of spending the week with Leila held no appeal to him, but he knew it was necessary if he wanted to head off a much larger problem in the future.

Leila would understand and he could always make it up to her later. While he would miss New Years with her, he wouldn't miss Christmas and that was the most important holiday of the two. Decision made, Vlad looked at the still large stack of letters and other legal documents that he had to read before he was free for the next few days. His mouth twisted into a grimace even as he sat forward to grab the next one, he would be lucky to finish before dawn at this rate.

Just as he sat down, a knock rang out on his door making him bite back a growl of frustration. "What?" His tone would have been enough to warn whoever was on the other side of the door that he was in no mood to deal with any trivial issue. If it had been any other person than who it was they would have left right then and there for fear of his wrath.

Leila opened the door with a raised eyebrow, obviously in reaction to his foul mood. Vlad bit back a sigh, of course his wife would come to visit him while he was buried in paperwork and unable to offer her any of his attention. Pushing himself back in his chair, he brushed his emotions across her own for the barest moment, letting her feel his frustration and his wordless apology for snapping at her. Leila's eyes softened in understanding, glancing at his stack of papers yet to be read before wincing in sympathy. "I take it that you forgot about dinner?"

Her words bewildered him momentarily, before he took in the floor length dress she wore that hugged every curve as if it were painted on and her hair that was up in an elaborate braid. With a sharp curse, Vlad remembered. He had told her that his paperwork should be done by dinner and that they could dine together afterwards, as a conciliatory prize since she had originally come to try to drag him out for the walk they had discussed previously.

He had refused saying that he had more paperwork than he thought, which was true. He hadn't expected the letters to cause so much trouble, and it had led to him losing track of time; something he almost never did. Leila must have felt his remorse and his ever growing frustration through the bond before he closed it, because instead of appearing angry over his forgetting their dinner she crossed the room in three easy strides before planting herself firmly in his lap.

"Alright, what's going on? I believed you earlier when you said you had a lot of paperwork, but that wouldn't have made you so frustrated that you forgot about our dinner plans. So what's wrong?" Even as his frustration built at the thought of the foolish people in his lines actions, he could feel his irritation draining from him as she stroked her hands through his hair. Finally releasing the sigh that he had been fighting off since he began reading the letters, he explained the situation.

Leila listened silently throughout, only stopping her stroking when he finished and she wrapped him into her arms. His own arms coming up to snake around her waist before tightening to pull her closer against him. "If you need to go and deal with that I won't blame you. It sounds like it could be serious." Pulling back from their embrace, Vlad looked into her eyes and knew that she was telling the truth. She wouldn't blame him, but she would be hurt even if she would never admit it.

Shaking his head, even as his logical mind told him that he should do what she said, dealing with the problem now would save him a great deal of trouble later, he ignored that in favor of slowly devouring his wife in a kiss. When he pulled away, he saw her dazed look and smiled. "No, it can wait until after Christmas, but I will have to leave immediately after opening presents on Christmas morning." He said it while his emotions brushed his remorse over her own, but Leila was having none of that.

"There's no reason to feel bad about this Vlad. You're doing everything in your power to be here with me for Christmas, despite it causing you a lot more trouble to do so. I couldn't be mad even if I tried. So what if we don't get New Years together? Or the Christmas dinner? We don't even eat human food anymore so we're not really missing much anyway. We should have time in the morning before you leave for me to see you off properly right?"

Vlad's mouth twisted into a devilish smile, "Even if we didn't have time, I would make it for that. Speaking of such things, your present arrived and we can use them before I have to leave." Leila's eyes changed to streetlight green, her mouth pulling up into a delighted smile.

"Can't wait. You know, I could just go with you and then we wouldn't have to be separated." Vlad smiled ruefully at the suggestion, yes he had considered that, but the things he was going to have to do to the offenders weren't things he wanted Leila see. She may accept him at his worst, but he knew that after her own capture and torture she wasn't comfortable being around anything of the sort, especially not done by him. Brushing another kiss on her forehead to take the sting out of his refusal, he shook his head.

"As much as I would like that, you should not be present for what I am going to do." Leila grimaced, he didn't have to say anymore. She knew what he meant and he was right, she would probably drop right into a PTSD attack as soon as he started and he couldn't afford to be distracted by her during it. His line was already giving him trouble, the last thing he needed was to be seen as soft for stopping a punishment and rushing to his wife's side because she was panicking. Just because she understood, didn't mean that she wasn't disappointed. If it weren't for her occasional freak outs she could stay with Vlad and neither of them had to deal with the loneliness of being separated.

Smelling her self deprecation, Vlad scowled. "Do not blame yourself for having lasting problems after being tortured for weeks by my enemies. It is only surprising that you hadn't developed these issues earlier after your first capture. You are strong, my wife, but you aren't invincible. Don't expect yourself to be."

Sighing, Leila let her irritation go for the moment, and addressed the other reason she was hesitant to stay home without him. "It's not just that, it's stupid but I'm not sure how I'll handle being here without you. After…" She trailed off, not wanting to remind him of her capture from their home, but knowing that he wouldn't want her to keep something that was bothering her from him. Vlad's eyes darkened as her meaning became clear.

He hadn't considered the possibility that she would be wary of staying home without him, but he should have. It was from here that she had been taken last time after all and though she was a capable fighter that had not saved her last time. Pulling on his beard in frustration, Vlad wracked his mind for a solution that would solve all of the problems. Seeing Leila's guilt over speaking, he quickly cut her thoughts off before they could take root.

"Don't feel guilt over telling me about something that would make you uncomfortable. If I weren't so frustrated I would have thought of that myself. It isn't only because of your fear that I would be hesitant to leave you here for any extent of time without me." A haunted look briefly flashed through his eyes, his shields cracking enough for Leila to feel both his determination to keep her safe and the hated fear that she would be captured again.

Biting her lip, Leila considered their options before an idea struck her. It might work, but would they mind the intrusion into their own holiday? Seeing the look on her face, Vlad knew that she had an idea. Leila laid it out for him after some mild prodding to continue on his part. "We could ask Mencheres and Kira if they want to celebrate with us, but they might want to celebrate together alone. That had been our plan before, after all."

Vlad considered her idea, before nodding. "I would feel more comfortable leaving you if Mencheres was close by. I will call him later and ask him and Kira to spend the holidays with us, and explain why I would like him to stay for however long this takes me to sort out." There were no other ideas he could think of that would make him feel half as comfortable with leaving his wife home without him. Mencheres was a powerful vampire, even if anyone did plan to attack while he was away, it would go nowhere with his honorary sire there.

With that decision made, Vlad looked balefully at the stack of papers still taking up residence on his desk. Leila caught his gaze and the direction it was in before going to stand. "I should leave you to it-" She was interrupted mid sentence when Vlad tugged her back into his lap. Shooting him a confused glance, she questioned his actions. "This isn't exactly productive toward your goal of finishing your paperwork."

Vlad smiled as he pulled her more snuggly against him, settling one of his arms around her waist before using the other to reach for his paperwork. "I am a five hundred year old vampire, I can manage to work with my lovely wife in my lap without problems. If it does happen to slow me slightly, well I will enjoy having you here more than I would enjoy the small amount of time I would save by letting you go."

Leila thought about it before shrugging mentally and turning into her husband's embrace. Reaching down, she slid her shoes off before curling her legs across his lap and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. As his hand stroked her back, she let her head drop to his neck as sleep dragged her down into its depths. Vlad smiled as his wife shifted closer into the hollow of his throat before slipping into sleep, the slight hum of electricity that she radiated relaxing him as he reached for the next paper. He might have to coerce her into relaxing like this more often while he did his work, it would certainly make the mundane task more enjoyable.


	5. Vlad and Leila's First Christmas Part 3

After the invitation to Mencheres was sent and accepted, Vlad lounged in bed while lazily stroking his wife's back. He had finished his paperwork around dawn, before carrying Leila back to bed. She had been right that her presence slowed his pace, but not for the reasons she had thought. Work was the last thought on his mind when he had his exquisitely dressed wife on his lap. It had been a good thing she had dozed off almost immediately or he doubted he would have gotten any work done at all.

Under his hand, Leila began to stir. Vlad was well known amongst his people for not being a morning person, but the sight of his peacefully sleeping wife was more than enough incentive for him to wake early. Bleary eyes cracked open, taking in his actions before releasing a hum of enjoyment. Grinning down at her, Vlad stroked his fingers up to her face before brushing a kiss on her head. "Good morning, my wife." He smelled her pleasure at his address as her arms reached up to pull him into a languid kiss.

"Good morning to you too, my husband." Now it was his turn to feel pleased, sitting up and pulling Leila to sit up with him.

"So what is the plan for today?" Her tone was neutral, but Vlad knew she was excited to start all the things they had discussed.

"I believe you mentioned baking cookies, we can start with that and afterwards take a walk around the property to choose trees for the halls. Decorating those should take the rest of the day and Mencheres and Kira will be here around that time. We could have dinner and then retire for the night."

The way he said retire told Leila that he wasn't talking about sleeping. A sly smile slid across her face as she bit back a laugh. "Usually I would say lets turn later into now, but I am really looking forward to making those cookies, so let's get dressed." Seeing the barest flash of disappointment on his face, Leila let herself laugh. "You shouldn't have mentioned the cookies if you had wanted to stay in bed for longer." With a grumble of agreement, Vlad stood to choose his outfit for the day.

In the kitchen there was top of the line equipment covering each countertop, not that it surprised Leila, with Vlad everything was top of the line. It was eerie to see the empty kitchen, so used to the bustle of activity that it normally was, but Vlad had promised that his people would leave them alone to their devices and he had followed through.

As she began pulling ingredients out, she looked up to see Vlad's curious gaze following her. Raising an eyebrow instead of asking, she waited and wasnt disappointed. "Don't you need the recipe?" He said it with no mocking, as if he was making sure not to offend her just in case she was still sleepy and forgot, something that had happened in similar situations before. In this case, he didn't have to worry.

Smiling impishly, Leila shook her head. "Nope, this is one of two recipes that I can make off the top of my head. Considering that Mom was big into baking and was set on teaching me everything she could, I learned quickly. I wasn't allowed near the oven after my accident because it was electric, but I still remember the recipe. You might have to put them in the oven though."

Vlad shrugged, not minding the thought, "If that is how I will help then so be it. I am happy to keep you company until you need me." Leila shot a smile his way before she began measuring out ingredients. Staying back to give her space, Vlad watched as she seemed to move on autopilot. Mixing the ingredients together with a look of determination, she paused with a confused look moments later. "I feel like I'm forgetting something, but I know that I have everything. The only thing left to do is add the powders, so what could I be forgetting?" Her mouth twisted into a small frown as she tried to remember. After a minute her eyes lit up, the frown disappearing as fast as it appeared. "Duh, Mom use to put music on. I knew it wasn't anything to do with the recipe. Do we have a radio?"

Vlad simply pulled out his phone in an unspoken answer, if Leila could still flush she would've been beet red. Vlad planted a kiss on her head with a chuckle at her oversight. "What genre should I put on?" Now Leila shot him an incredulous look. Shaking his head, Vlad answered his own question. "Christmas, of course."

The first song to come on made Vlad grin before advancing to wrap Leila into his arms. Resting his hands on her waist and pulling her close, he dropped his mouth to her ear. "Shall we dance?" Leila bit back a laugh at his theatrics.

"I never pegged you as a lover of Baby It's Cold Outside. Besides if we dance right now I'll cover you in flour." Gesturing down to her coated hands and clothes as she spoke, she tried to pull back only for Vlad's grip to tighten.

"It's only flour, it will wash out. I've noticed that you don't prefer to dance during any event I host and I know it is because you are uncomfortable with the attention. However, we are alone now and no one will be interrupting us. If the flour bothers you then pretend it is snow." Leila couldn't bite back her laugh at that, but she relaxed into his hold. They swayed with the music, in their own little world until the song ended and they pulled apart. Leila cupped his cheek and pulled Vlad down into a kiss.

A snort broke out of her when she pulled back to see her hand had spread flour into his beard on accident. "You can't get mad, I did warn you!" Her statement was broken up with the chuckles she fought to hold back. Vlad raised an eyebrow, guessing what had happened before a wicked smile spread across his face. Before she could ask what had put it there Vlad ran his hands through the flour mess on the counter, thoroughly coating them.

Leila gasped as she was suddenly grabbed, Vlad placed each of his hands on her butt and pulled her snugly against him where he proceeded to steal all the unnecessary air in her lungs with a scorching kiss. When he was finished, she had a different kind of dazed look than the one she had been sporting over the past week.

When she could form words again, she looked at him curiously and asked. "What was that for?" Only for a flash to go off, making both of them turn to the entrance of the kitchen. There stood Gretchen, her phone still raised from the picture and a giant grin on her face.

"Nice hand prints, Vlad." Her sister's statement confused Leila, until it dawned on her why Vlad had covered his hands with flour before kissing her. Looking down, sure enough she had two perfect handprints on her jeans. Looking back to Vlad with both irritation and amusement, Leila shook her head.

"Really? Was that necessary?" Even as she tried to keep her scolding tone a smile threatened to break through. Another flash went off, dragging her attention back to her little sister.

Vlad beat her to addressing Gretchen and his response surprised her. "Those pictures will be going nowhere but your phone and my own." Gretchen nodded easily as Leila looked at him bewildered.

"You're keeping them?" Vlad glanced down at his wife, her confusion amusing him to no end. "Of course, vampires not appearing in pictures is pure myth and I see no problems with having pictures of us. Do you have a problem with it?"

Leila shook her head, "Well no, I'm just surprised that you don't have a problem with my sister having photographic evidence of you being anything other than your normal scary self."

"As I said, any pictures she takes will go nowhere but her phone and my own so there is no problem." Here he stared hard at Gretchen, until she nodded in agreement.

"No need for the scary look, I have no one I'd want to send them to anyway. Mom used to love taking pictures and videos of us as kids. Leila didn't really like to be in them, but dealt with it because Mom really enjoyed it. I loved both being in the picture and taking them, still do. So unless she explicitly states that she doesn't want me taking pictures of her, then she's just going to have to deal with it." Gretchen smiled as she spoke, momentarily going misty eyed at the memories before shaking herself back to the present to poke fun at her sister.

Leila smiled at the memory of trying to get out of the holiday photos. Gretchen was right, the only one in their family who could make Leila stay still for a picture had been their mother and now Vlad, although he hadn't meant to.

"I don't mind, as long as they're decent pictures and as long as Vlad doesn't mind?" Gretchen grinned at her sisters permission before turning to look questioningly at her husband who simply nodded his permission.

"Any pictures you take will be sent to my phone, that is my only stipulation." Eagerly nodding, Gretchen held up her phone again before asking, "How about one where you guys are actually looking at the camera?"

Vlad and Leila exchanged glances before shrugging. Leila turned in his arms to rest against his chest while facing the camera. Glancing up, she caught his eyes only to get lost in the way the kitchen lights glinted off the copper iris. Gretchen snapped the picture before nodding her acceptance. Before leaving she threw over her shoulder. "You two are ridiculously photogenic, even coated in flour."

Alone again, Leila turned with a playfully scolding look, "Since I was interrupted last time, lets try this again. Shall we?" Before Vlad could react she dragged her hands through the flour mess and wove her fingers into his hair, making white streaks cut through the dark curtain of hair. Raising an eyebrow, Vlad reached around her to the flour bag. He smiled and said six words that made Leila guffaw with laughter even as she tried to escape his upcoming assault.

"As Mencheres said, it is on." Vlad's statement was punctuated by him throwing the handful of flour he had retrieved into Leila's hair, ignoring her fake squeal of outrage. Letting her go, he jumped back to avoid the return fire only to receive a face full of flour courtesy of his wife. The fight lasted ten minutes and by the end of it, the kitchen was covered with flour, and so were they. Every visible inch on their bodies were covered in white powder and they were both laughing at the others appearance.

Their humor was muffled when Maximus walked into the kitchen, only to stop short at the sight of his prince covered in flour and laughing. The look on his face was so similar to when he saw Vlad playing in the snow that Leila burst into laughter again. Vlad knew what had caused her new peals of laughter, shooting an exasperated look at his wife he addressed his oldest friend.

"Maximus, I ordered us not to be interrupted unless something important came up." The unspoken question brought Maximum's attention back to Vlad.

With an apologetic look he spoke, "You received a call from one of your people, it sounds like there could be trouble and they're demanding to speak to you." The statement sent a wave of unease down Leila's spine, that didn't sound ominous at all…

Biting back a sigh, Vlad turned to Leila. "I know we had planned to choose the trees together, but this could take all night. Will you feel comfortable going with a guard? We can decorate them once I am finished with this call." Before Leila could agree a feminine voice made them all turn to the doorway.

"Are you picking out a tree? Ooh, can I come?! That's always fun." Kira breezed through the door, not commenting on their current state of dress, with Mencheres right beside her smiling at his lovers enthusiasm. "Sorry about coming in unannounced, but we got here a bit early and I couldn't help, but overhear."

Vlad waved off her apology before looking down to Leila to gauge her interest. Leila stepped forward to greet Kira only to stop when she remembered her current messy state. Stopping a foot in front of her, Leila agreed. "Sure, it's always nice to have another person's opinion. Although I need to change really quick if you don't mind. Is Mencheres coming too?"

Kira grinned at the reference to both of their flour covered clothes, "I don't mind and I think Mencheres had something to discuss with Vlad?" Glancing back to him for confirmation, Mencheres nodded before stepping forward.

"It can wait until after you take your call, but all the same I will stay here. You two enjoy yourself on your walk." Pulling Kira to him for a sound kiss before releasing her, he gestured Vlad to lead the way. Vlad grimaced, turning to Leila.

"I will try to finish the call quickly, be sure to change before heading out. It is too cold out for what you're currently wearing." He kissed her before turning on his heel, he nodded at Mencheres to follow him.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Thanks for helping me pick out the trees." Leila knew that she could have done it on her own, but Kira was good company. As a kid she hadn't made any friends thanks to her electrical issues, but after today Leila was hopeful that Kira might just be her first female friend.

"It's nothing to thank me for, I love all things Christmas. Besides, I wanted to thank you for helping me with Mencheres surprise, he loved it." The genuine thanks made Leila feel warm as they both walked back to the house with several trees on each of their shoulders. They could have asked one of the guards to come help carry them, but both women were of the same mind that if they could easily do it, why should they bother someone else to do it for them.

Once within sight of the front doors two guards rushed to take the trees, frantically asking why they didn't bring help with them. After thanking the guards, Leila and Kira watched them be set up for decorating. "I'm sorry for pulling you away from your Christmas plans." Leila still felt guilty, despite Vlad telling her that Kira had been glad to come.

Kira reaffirmed his earlier reassurance, "You don't need to be sorry, I didn't have any plans besides being with Mencheres which hasn't changed. Now we just get to celebrate with more people, nothing wrong with that." A knot of tension relaxed in Leila at Kira's excitement. It was foreign for someone besides Vlad or Marty to actually enjoy her company, but Leila was slowly getting used to it.

The guards signaled that they were done setting up the trees before bowing and taking their leave. Leila looked up at the towering trees with wonder and trepidation. Ever since Vlad had gotten the call earlier she had a bad feeling that refused to go away no matter how much she tried to ignore it. It hadn't helped that Vlad had thrown up the wall between them shortly after taking the call. She tried to tell herself that there were lots of reasons he would do that, but that screaming feeling that something was wrong refused to leave.


	6. Vlad and Leila's First Christmas Part 4

Vlad was pacing the floor of his study with smoke pouring off of him. Mencheres stood silently to the side, waiting for Vlad to speak. He didn't have to wait long, "Those insolent fools! Do they really think that I would grant them leadership of their own lines simply because I wish to remain here with Leila instead of answering their challenges?!" The previous smoke had turned into a full fire that covered his upper body. Vlad knew he was venting as a distraction from the real issue and so did Mencheres, who brought up what Vlad was dreading to think on.

"You will have to leave immediately to reach them in time to answer their challenge. If you don't then others under your line take it as a sign of weakness." Vlad let out a sigh, letting go of his rage for now. He would feel more than enough of it when he dealt with the fools who thought it was a good idea to tear him from his wife's side near the holidays.

The meeting place was to be a days flight away and once he got there he had a number of challenges from various members of his line to deal with. After dealing with those he would have to stay even longer afterwards to make an example of those who had sought to make him appear weak.

Even if he left immediately and put all of his focus on getting through the challenges quickly it would take him at least a week to return home which would guarantee that he missed spending Christmas with Leila and possibly New Years as well. Equal parts rage and resignation flowed through him. He hated to leave Leila over the holidays, especially considering how excited she had been, but he had no choice now. If he waited until after Christmas, just as Mencheres had said, his people would no doubt do similar things in the future and he couldn't afford that.

Which left him with only one option, leave Leila here and go deal with his challengers. After he won the fights, as he knew he would, he would make a public display of showing them why it had been a bad idea to try their little stunt. Once he was finished no one would dare try this again for fear of what he would do to them, but that still left him with the problem of leaving his wife during the holidays.

Mencheres could plainly see the thoughts going through Vlad's head, softening his expression as he spoke. "You don't have a choice in the matter, Leila is a reasonable woman. She will understand, she may be disappointed naturally, but she won't hold it against you."

It had never once crossed Vlad's mind that she wouldn't understand, because he knew his wife and Mencheres was right. She would be disappointed without a doubt, but she wasn't the type to hold such things against him. Although he briefly wished that just this once she would. It would be easier for him to know that she was angry with him while he was away than for her to be lonely or hurt while he was unable to do anything to make it better. "I know she will, but she shouldn't have to."

Mencheres nodded his understanding, many times he had to make decisions that cancelled plans with Kira and while she was understanding it aggravated him no less. The people who were the cause of his being pried from her side generally quickly regret it when they were forced to deal with the sharp end of his temper. He had no doubt that the fools behind this attempt would come to regret their decision as well.

"I will stay as long as you are gone, you need not worry about this being an attempt at an ambush again. I doubt that there is worry for one, but if there is I will handle it." Mencheres voice rang with determination and a hint of blood thirst. Briefly Vlad was reminded of the conqueror his sire use to be and he almost hoped his enemies were stupid enough to try anything. It would almost be worth it, knowing that what Mencheres would do to them would exceed his own methods of torture, but no. Leila deserved a calm Christmas if nothing else and she would get that, Vlad had seen to it by calling his sire.

Letting a sigh past his lips, Vlad straightened. There was no more putting it off, he had little enough time as it was to get ready and leave. He needed to tell Leila of the changes in plan. Heading toward the door, Vlad steeled himself for his wife's disappointment.

When Mencheres and Vlad entered the room Kira and Leila were looking through the ornaments and deciding which would go on what tree. Kira was the first to spot them. Her smile freezing on her face when she saw the grim look on Mencheres. Leila noticed Kira's expression and turned only to see the same expression on Vlad. She instantly knew that her feeling had been right earlier and that call had been something bad. I hate it when I'm right, briefly flashed through her mind.

With resignation and wariness Leila asked, "What happened?" Vlad grimaced at her tone, but explained the situation. By the end Leila looked just as disappointed as he had expected her to be. She tried to hide it, but he had five hundred years experience reading people.

"And you'd be gone a week?" Vlad could practically hear her thoughts. That would be the longest they had been away from each other since her capture. Fighting back the urge to tell his people where they could stuff their challenges and simply dealing with the fall out later, he approached her.

"At least, possibly longer depending on how long it takes me to push through all the challengers and make an appropriate example of them. Mencheres has already agreed to stay for however long it takes." Vlad watched as Leila threw Mencheres an appreciative look before focusing back on him. He watched as she put a fake smile on and prepared to see him off, the sight sitting like glass in his gut.

"Well it can't be helped and hey at least Mencheres and Kira are here to celebrate with me right?" Her forced optimism grated against his emotions and he snapped before he could stop himself.

"Stop pretending to be okay with this, I told you that you never need to hide your emotions with me and that still stands true. It is fine to be disappointed or angry, I most certainly am, but don't make yourself be anything that you aren't." Vlad felt like biting his tongue off when he saw a flash of hurt cross his wife's face. He could faintly see both Kira's wince at his words and Mencheres reproachful glance, but before he could take it back Leila spoke.

"You're right. I shouldn't try to fake anything with you, but old habits die hard. I am sad that you have to go." Here she stopped to walk up and wrap her arms around him. "But I'm not angry with you. This isn't something that you can fix and me being angry at you will do nothing, but make you even more miserable than you already will be." Her words made his stomach warm more thoroughly than blood ever would. Her next sentence made him grin in savage anticipation.

"I will however be angry at the dipshits that made this necessary so instead of feeling guilty about having to do your job, I have a counter offer. Finish your challenges and afterwards make such an example out of them that no one will dare ever try this again and then we celebrate properly once you get home safely. It doesn't matter when we celebrate, as long as we're together right?"

Vlad stroked her face, the familiar determined expression a comfort to him. "Yes, you are right. We will celebrate when I return and it will be no different than if we had celebrated on the actual day. And Leila?"

Here he leaned down to brush his lips over the shell of her ear and whispered for only her to hear, "When I return, nothing will interrupt us from putting your present to use. So be sure you are well rested for then. I don't plan for either of us to be leaving that room for at least two days." Leila's eyes immediately flared bright green, alerting anyone in the vicinity of the nature of what he had told her.

Leila eyed Vlad, green gaze running over him hungrily. "And I take it that you have to leave soon." He could see the plans forming in her mind and hated having to be the one to tell her no. He needed to leave soon or he would stay despite the consequences.

Taking her hand that had been slowly trailing up his chest, he lifted it to his mouth and kissed it in apology. "I must leave immediately to get there in time. If that weren't the case I would have already thrown you over my shoulder to take you to bed before leaving." Leila smiled at his words before sighing in resignation. Well if she couldn't send him off properly then at least she could do this…

"Hey guys, could you give us the room for a minute?" Noises of agreement sounded before the room was suddenly empty of all but them. Vlad narrowed his eyes, having an idea of where she was going with this.

"Leila, we don't have time for this. I refuse to rush through our love making. I would prefer to wait and give you the time and attention that you deserve-" Vlad stopped as Leila dropped down to her knees in front of him, hands unbuttoning his pants as she ignored what he was saying.

"I know you don't do quickies, which is why I'm not asking for one. You may not have a lot of time, but I'd like to think I've gotten good at this and with some effort it shouldn't take me long. You probably already have someone packing your bag for you and the plane takes about fifteen minutes to be ready anyway. I want you to remember this when you're dealing with those idiots. I want you to remember what you have waiting for you at home."

Vlad stared down at her in shock, she had never been this bold before. He knew that he could tell her to stop and she would, albeit reluctantly, but he knew that this was her way of dealing with not being allowed what she had been looking forward to. She couldn't have him for the week they had planned, in fact she couldn't even have him for the rest of the day, but she could send him off in the best way she knew how. It wasn't nearly what she wanted, but it would have to be enough. So, with a groan, he snapped out an order in Romanian for no one to enter the room on threat of death and nodded his agreement.

Usually he refused to take pleasure from his wife while knowing that for one reason or another, he couldn't give it back, but right now he knew that Leila wanted him. She didn't have time to have him in the way she wanted, but she could have this. So he would give himself to her now in the way she wanted, and when he returned he would pay her back ten fold.

RATED M****

Grinning up at him, Leila quickly dragged his pants down, giving her access to his manhood which already stood partially erect for her. Not wasting a second, Leila moved to kneel between his legs. Leaning against his hip she licked a path from the sharp point down to the hair at his navel. Only stopping to wrap her fingers around his base, before locking her lips on the head and sliding down to engulf him. She felt more than heard him groan, the vibrations rolling through her jaw and throat sending tingles straight to her groin which she promptly ignored in favor of swallowing around her mouthful.

Vlad's hands wrapped into her hair, tugging on her scalp in a way that made her purr, resulting in another moan accompanied with a shallow thrust that he tried to hold back. Feeling him restraining himself, Leila pulled one hand away from his length and placed it over the one in her hair. His eyes snapped open in alarm, immediately looking into her own for signs of distress.

His mouth went slack with shock when instead of pulling his hand away, she linked their fingers together and pushed on her head until her lips touched his base. The message made clear, she moved her hand to cradle his hip with her thumb stroking the sensitive skin in the V of his stomach.

Vlad threw his head back with a guttural moan at the sight of his length disappearing inside his wife's mouth. His wife who had never stopped staring into his eyes, allowing him to see her love for him while he took his pleasure from her.

Letting his control go, he tightened his hold on her hair before using the new leverage to piston in and out of her mouth. Her teeth lightly scraping the top of his throbbing erection every time he pulled out while her tongue caressed the underside. The combination of those and her eyes which burned bright green with her lust and love sent him over the edge.

Gripping her head to his groin, his body shook as he groaned out his release. The tremors rolling through his body feeling as if they were shaking him apart piece by piece. He came back to himself to find that he still had her head pressed to his stomach and his hips still gave miniature thrusts as if still chasing his orgasm. Slowly relaxing his grip on her hair, he watched as she reconnected their eyes before sliding off his length with a loud pop. The sight almost aroused him again, even though he had just finished coming.

RATED M FINISHED****

Taking her hands off his hips, he helped her stand back up despite her being more than capable of doing it herself. The second she was at her full height he lunged forward and claimed her mouth with his own. He allowed his shields to crack enough for her to feel his appreciation, contentment, and his love for her before closing them tightly again.

Glancing at the clock with reluctance, Vlad knew that he had to leave now. While he didn't regret the delay or the reason for it, he couldn't afford to stall anymore. Leila understood, not saying a word as she redid his pants before wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace which he wasted no time in returning. Into his shoulder she muttered, "I'll stay in the house and close to Mencheres or Kira until you get home, so don't worry about me. Focus on getting through the fights and coming home to me alright?"

Although she didn't outright say it, Vlad knew what she was really asking. She wanted him to be careful, he was strong but he wasn't invincible. To allay her concerns he swept a kiss into her hair before replying, "I will call you after I get off the plane and at least three times a day afterward. Once when I wake up, once after the challengers of the day are finished, and once before I go to sleep. If you feel the need to call me for any reason, even if it is only to talk because you are feeling lonely, text first. If I am able I will call you immediately or at the earliest convenience. If there is an emergency, link to me and I will come back immediately." Waiting to receive her nod, he cupped her face in his hands before continuing. "I love you and I will come back safely."

When Leila's eyes opened they were misty with pink tears which she quickly blinked back. "I love you too and you better, because if you think I won't march into enemy territory myself to drag your butt back then you've got another thing coming."

A bark of laughter pushed from his chest, he pulled her into one final kiss goodbye. A knock on the door brought his attention back to the present. "The plane is ready and your bag is already loaded." Mencheres hadn't opened the door, showing forethought, and Vlad smiled without humor. Forcing his arms to uncoil from Leila, he took a step back. Looking at her face for a painstaking minute before she let out a laugh of disbelief.

"At this rate you won't make it there in time. Go on, go kick ass and take names. I'm sure you'll have lots to tell me when you get back and remember the faster you get it over with the faster you can come home."

Vlad's eyes burnt green at the reminder of his promise on his return. Nodding determinedly, he brushed the hair out of her face before disappearing in a rush. Leila forced herself to stand still with the same smile pasted onto her face as she listened to the distant sound of the plane taking off. Just to be extra careful, she even waited a few minutes after the plane had disappeared before letting her smile drop and her eyes fill.

She refused to let Vlad see her crying, he was already guilty enough even though there was nothing he could do about the situation. Besides, she just needed a good cry and then she would pull herself together and deal with it like a grown up. Arms slid around her shoulders making her jolt in surprise. Glancing up, Leila relaxed as Kira's sympathetic gaze met hers.

She wasn't sure why it being Kira made it okay, but for some reason she felt like Kira wouldn't mock her for what she was feeling, which is more than she could say of Gretchen. Glancing around the room to be sure that there was no one else, Leila dropped her head against Kira's shoulder and let all the frustration and disappointment out.

Vlad sat in the plane, fingers gripping the armrest hard enough to break it. Leila thought he hadn't noticed her emotions rising to painful levels, but he knew her better than anyone else. He knew that she didn't want to break down in front of him though, so he made his leave as quickly as he could before he changed his mind.

He couldn't afford to let himself do that, but the knowledge that his wife was most likely in tears at this very moment felt like silver twisting into his chest. His only comfort was that he highly suspected that Kira had gone to comfort Leila after he had left.

She had been hovering outside of the hall, far enough away to not overhear anything, but close enough to notice when he left. She had looked worried and the instant she had seen him she had given him her best wishes for his trip before rushing past him to the room that held his wife.

Mencheres had simply smiled sadly, "It appears that our ladies have grown closer. I'm glad, they could both use a friend." Vlad was glad as well, not just because Leila would have someone to comfort her. He had noticed that when Leila had told him of her younger life she had never mentioned friends and he had guessed that she hadn't had any due to her abilities or scars scaring the other children away. It was a relief that she had at least one now. Vlad had been contemplating setting a day to meet with Cat, hopefully Cat could be a friend to Leila just as she was a friend to him.

Biting back a sigh, he looked out the window at the clouds. The hardest part was over, making himself leave Leila while knowing that she would be hurting from his absence. Now he could focus on doing everything in his power to get home to her as quickly as possible.

As he leaned back into the seat he remembered the gift wrapped under the tree and cursed. It would be a week before they could put that to use now and while his homecoming was sure to be a pleasure neither of them would soon forget that didn't make him any less irritated at the delay.

To his surprise, he found that he actually looked forward to being tied down by her. Although, after thinking deeply about it, he shouldn't be surprised that he would want it. He knew how it felt when Leila allowed him to blindfold her, the trust that she had in him that nothing would happen to her while he was there had almost brought him to his knees with arousal. He wanted Leila to feel that and more.

His mind wandered to Leila's parting gift to him and his eyes flashed green at the memory. She had wanted him to remember and there was no way he wouldn't after that. He would be lucky if he managed to get through his challengers without becoming aroused at an inopportune time.

Then again, his mood darkened as he thought, he would be too focused on making his enemies regret taking him from his lovers side to think of anything else until he was on his way home again.

He glared down at his arousal as it began to stir to life. When he had been mentally considering the effects his separation from Leila would have on him he had not considered his painful arousal and not having an outlet for it. Biting back another sigh Vlad knew that next week was going to be miserable, for both him and Leila.


	7. Vlad and Leila's First Christmas Part 5

Don't hate me, but there is still one more part to this story. I know I'm evil for separating them on Christmas, but this idea was perfect and I couldn't leave it alone. After the next chapter there is possibly one more, but I'll detail it at the bottom of this chapter and you can decide if you guys want it or not.

When the plane touched down many hours later, Vlad was full of rage and ready to take it out on those who had forced him into this situation. Maximus grabbed both of their bags before following him as they exited. They had to check into a hotel before they could go to the meeting place. While Maximus made the arrangements, Vlad called Leila to tell her that they had landed safely.

The phone barely rang once before he heard her voice answer. "Vlad?" He smiled to himself, even hearing her voice was a relief although not nearly as much as he would prefer. "Yes, we have landed safely and are checking in to a hotel. Afterwards we will be going to the challengers and I will be dealing with the first round of those. I will not be answering my phone, but I will be sure to call you once I am back at the hotel."

He could hear her sigh of relief, "Thank you, I know you're not used to checking in with anyone, but I appreciate it." He didn't need to see her to know how grateful she was, it resonated in her voice.

"I told you that I would, I understand the worry of not knowing where I am so I will do my best to alleviate it from you. The same way you promised to stay in the house and near Mencheres to alleviate mine." A hum was his only answer before a comfortable silence settled between them. Neither having anything in particular to say, but both enjoying the others presence too much to hang up.

It was interrupted much too soon by Maximus informing him that the room was ready and his challengers were getting impatient. With a sigh, Vlad ended the call after they shared their goodbyes. Turning the phone off, he handed it to Maximus without further thought. He couldn't afford to be distracted during the next few hours, better for Maximus to keep his phone until they returned to the hotel. After a shower and change of clothes both of them set out for the meeting place.

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Looking up at the building in front of him, Vlad was sorely not impressed. The design was bulky and too ostentatious, as if the people behind it were trying for elegant and had failed miserably. Instead the building's design called for attention in the same way a circus does, with loud noises and colors meant to capture the attention of the people.

Shaking his scathing thoughts away, he straightened before walking into the entryway. Not stopping at the front desk, he powered on until he found the conference room where the challenges were to be held.

Slamming the doors open so hard that they bounced off the connecting walls, he let his power flow freely from him as he entered the room to face those who had challenged him.

There were at least fifty of his people, all gawking openly at him. Their surprise quickly melted into a frozen fear as they felt the frothing rage that was coming off of him in waves. Vlad looked out over all in attendance, taking note of who all was involved in this attempt to take advantage of his love for his wife. On a first glance he immediately knew that none of the people in attendance had been under his line for more than forty years at best. He bit back a scoff of disbelief, these greenhorns thought that they could get the better of him that easily? Although it made sense, seasoned members of his line would know better than to try something this stupid. No, they would wait and see if their younger members stunt worked before attempting it themselves.

As much as he loathed to admit it, he was glad that he had chosen to deal with this now. While none of those present would be any danger to him, if the older members of his line had decided to try anything similar then things would look considerably more bleak. He was here now and could cut this off at the head. Afterward, he promised himself, neither he nor Leila would leave their chambers for at least two if not three to four days. That would be the least he had earned after he finished dealing with these fools.

Allowing his most terrifying smile yet to curl his lips, Vlad glanced back over the people and almost laughed as their faces blanked in unison. They had apparently expected him to not show, had in fact been confident enough in it to not even think he might appear, and what he would do to them when he did so never crossed their minds. He could see clearly as they all realized their oversight, and began to truly consider what he would do to them now that he was here. Almost immediately one of the youngest members in the room shouted out with fear leaking from his every pore, "I repeal my challenge!"

Vlad kept that same smile on his face as he nodded his acceptance, some of the older members looked at him in shock at his easy compliance. A part of Vlad wanted to simply accept all of their repeals and go home. That insidious voice whispered that he could still make it home in time to celebrate with Leila. He quickly pushed those thoughts back. He knew without a doubt that if he went home without dealing with this Leila would be furious with him for letting these oafs have their way. No, for his reputations sake and for the sake of keeping the peace with his wife, he would stay and see this through to the end. By the time he was finished, word would spread of what happened to those who would dare to try anything similar.

Before the vampire who had spoken could finish his blink, his lower body was on fire. The screams rang out throughout the room, the other challengers visibly wincing or turning away from the sight, the fire burned bright until it was almost blinding. When it died down, all that was a pile of ash. Doing a purposefully slow glance at each and every face in the room, Vlad's voice boomed out. "Would anyone else like to take back their challenge?" Not surprisingly, none were forthcoming. He watched as realization played across each of the faces in the room, they were all coming to understand that their foolish choice would be their deaths for he would kill them whether through a challenge or without one. Keeping his smile firmly in place, Vlad asked the room at large. "So who will be dying first?"

By the end of the day, Vlad had swept through close to a dozen of the original fifty challengers.

None had tried to run to their credit, but he had issued a warning before retiring to his hotel. "I have touched every single one of you before which means that if you try to escape I will simply burn you to death once you fail to arrive here, on time, tomorrow. I advise you to get any of your affairs in order now and ,if you have a faith, say your final prayer before I send you to meet your maker."

At the pace he was going it would take at least four days instead of the original three that he had planned to get through all of his challengers, and he still had to make an example out of those who survived, which would take even more time. He had been hoping to be home for New Years, but it looked like that wasn't to be. Blowing out a breath, he felt his temperature rising in irritation. Maximus's timely knock stopped him before he could begin to smoke.

Entering without hesitation, Maximus drew out Vlad's phone from his pocket before throwing it to him. "I thought you would like this back, I'm sure Leila will be worrying about you. Although after seeing those that were gathered, she has no reason to." A sardonic smile twisted his mouth as he spoke.

Vlad snorted at how similar his statement was to what he had originally thought upon arriving. "I will be sure to tell her when I call her, it may bring her some relief to know I am fighting imbeciles." Shifting the phone in his hand, he nodded for Maximus to leave. He did, but only after shooting a quip over his shoulder.

"You should definitely call your wife sooner rather than later, it might help your temper." The door closed before Vlad could snipe back. Maximus was lucky that he had been Vlad's friend for centuries or he would surely have paid for comments like that.

Shaking off his irritation, Vlad sat down and finally dialed his wife's number. The phone rang twice this time before Leila's voice came across. The slight drowsiness to her tone told him that he had woken her. With a silent curse, he remembered the time difference. Shaking his head, he focused on the call, Leila would prefer he wake her than for her to wake up only to hear nothing from him. "Apologies for waking you, the time difference slipped my mind. I was just calling to inform you that I have arrived safely back to the hotel and have completed around a fourth of the challenges without a scratch to show for it."

He could practically hear her scoff at his typical arrogant reply. The sound of sheets shifting alerted him to her being in bed and what wonderful imagery that painted.

"I don't mind being woken up as long as it's by you. Anyone else risks their life and limbs. All joking aside, I'm glad you're not having trouble with the fights. I know you're strong, but I still worry."

Vlad stretched out on the bed, content listening to Leila's voice as she spoke. He had never thought that someone's voice would have such an effect on him, but he didn't mind it in the slightest. "I would tell you not to worry, but I know that you can't help it anymore than I can. To put your mind at ease, none of my opponents are above fifty years of age. Older members of my line would never plan something like this, because they know it is doomed to fail."

Leila's silence was shocked, before she burst out with an incredulous tone. "Seriously? The idiots aren't even fifty but they thought it would be a good idea to try to make you do anything? And they didn't consider what you would do on the off chance you actually showed up? That is a special kind of stupid…"

Vlad laughed as she went on a miniature tirade over the stupidity of his newest adversaries. He sobered at her next words though. "Hell if I had known they were that young I might have come with you anyway. Just to kick their ass myself for interrupting our plans for their stupid idea." While the thought was funny in it's own way, Vlad knew that he still would have to make a public display out of them which he didn't want her to see.

He could understand her frustration though, they had both been disappointed by this turn of events and to learn that the ones behind it hadn't even hit their first half-century of life and were stupid enough to think this plan would work made their separation worse. Their holiday was cut short thanks to people's stupidity, not a cunning plot made by a new enemy and it left a bitter taste in both of their mouths.

"Amusing as the thought is, I still wouldn't want you to be witness to the things I will be doing to them. I must make an example of them, or I will be drowned in challenges by the next morning."

"Oh I know, it doesn't make me want to stomp their ass any less, but I do understand. Besides it probably wouldn't look great if it was your wife doing the stomping instead of you right?" Leila was correct in her guess, if she dealt with the challenges then his enemies would leap on the insinuation that Vlad couldn't fight them himself. Better for him to handle it and rush home afterwards.

"You are correct, although it would almost be worth it for the look of surprise on my enemies faces when they are beaten by a newly turned vampire who isn't even a quarter of their age." He smiled at the mental image of some of his more irritating enemies in just that scenario, before shaking his head to clear it. Again he heard her shift, only this time he heard what sounded like a stiffer fabric brushing against their sheets. His confusion was plain in his voice when he spoke, "What are you wearing?"

Before he could think about the connotations of that question, Leila laughed on the other end of the phone. "Well then, is it going to be one of those calls? Should I go change into something sexy for this discussion?" He could hear Leila stifling her laughter throughout her questioning and internally sighed. He should've seen that one coming, but he hadn't thought about the double meaning before he spoke. He refused to partake in that activity, as she well knew, but he could play along to see what her reaction was.

"And if I said yes it is one of those calls? What would you answer?" He heard silence as she considered his question.

"I would first call you on your bullshit because I know you would never go for that and then I would ask you how your day went. However, since we're talking in hypothetical situations here, I would have to say I am currently wearing one of your shirts...and nothing else."

Vlad wasn't sure if he should laugh or groan, she had to put that imagine into his head didn't she? There was no way he would be able to sleep now, not that he had figured he would get a lot of sleep while away from her anyway. "The fabric sounds stiff, why would you choose one of my dress shirts to sleep in when you could choose the softer casual wear?"

It was a minor subject change for the sake of his ability to sleep tonight, but either Leila didn't notice or didn't mind because she answered, albeit hesitantly. "The other ones smelled like detergent, I grabbed this one before the staff got to it so it still smells like you."

His mirth faded at her words, while he was pleased at the thought of her in his clothes, as he always was, the reason behind it dampened both of their moods. There was nothing he could say that would make this situation any better so he settled on, "Ah. I take it that you were having difficulties sleeping?" It was said as a question, but he already knew the answer. They had discovered months ago that neither of them slept well when separated.

"Yeah, unfortunately that is still a problem. I've been in and out of restless sleep for a few hours now." She trailed off, not sure what to say, but wanting to keep talking. Vlad picked up on that and redirected the conversation in the hopes of bringing her mood back up.

"What did you occupy yourself with after I left? Kira mentioned decorating with you and Mencheres." His subject switch did the trick, Leila began to detail her day. Getting comfortable against the pillows Vlad closed his eyes, taking in her voice as it relaxed him further.

"Kira and I decorated most of the trees, but we couldn't reach the tops so Mencheres flew Kira up to do it. He offered to fly me too but I'm not exactly comfortable with being lifted via telekinesis. After that we moved on to hanging the other decorations, which took up the rest of the day. Oh, Gretchen sent me the pictures because she didn't have your number. Want me to send them to you?"

After giving her an affirmative, his phone beeped notifying him of the incoming photos. He would look at them after they hung up, there was no rush after all they weren't going anywhere.

Their conversation continued as such until Vlad noticed how many hours had passed. With a sigh, he reluctantly bid her good night, knowing that if he didn't do so then he would stay up all night talking about nothing with her and, while the thought was appealing, he needed to be focused for tomorrow. After they had both said their good nights, he finally looked at the pictures.

A smile pulled at his lips when he saw the clear view of the kitchen, he and Leila were wrapped together, both facing the camera. They were staring into one another's eyes and seeing his own expression made him understand why she had known he loved her before he had allowed himself to acknowledge it. His eyes were warmer than he had ever seen and he was smiling genuinely down at her. A complete stranger could look at this photo and know that he thought of her as his world and nothing less. Moving to the next, his smile stretched even further in amusement.

They were locked at the mouth, completely ignorant of the world around them and Leila's pants had two clear hand prints to match the one white one on his cheek. He chuckled at the memory of their flour fight and the mess it left in the kitchen.

The last picture must have been taken after he left, Mencheres had both hands wrapped around Kira's waist as he lifted her up to decorate the higher branches of the trees. Leila stood off to the side of the picture, almost completely cut out of the frame. She was watching Mencheres and Kira with a small smile, but it wasn't her smile at caught Vlad's attention. It was her eyes, she had a look of such longing that he could feel it in his own chest as he looked at her.

Sighing, Vlad set the phone to the side before laying back with his arms crossed over his chest. It was only one day into his errand and he was already having difficulty resisting the urge to get on the nearest plane and go back home. If today was any indication, the rest of the week was going to go by at a crawl. Grunting in irritation at his thoughts, he rolled over in an attempt to get comfortable only to shift again moments later.

After an hour of tossing and turning, he sighed in frustration as he stared at the ceiling. Barely a year into their relationship and she has made it where he is unable to sleep without her at his side. If he didn't know better he would call it witchcraft. Deciding that attempting to sleep was pointless, Vlad stood and began his morning routine of getting ready. There was still a few hours left before his first challenge of the day, but anything was better than staring at the ceiling while knowing that he wouldn't sleep.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Christmas morning broke bright and clear with not a cloud in the sky. Leila stretched languidly across the bed before automatically reaching for the person who wasn't there. Her hand landing on nothing jogged her memory and also plummeted her mood. She hadn't gotten much of any sleep the night before despite her best efforts. If this was how the rest of the week was going to go then she was going to be a zombie by the time Vlad returned. She only hoped that he slept better than she did, since he would be fighting he would need the sleep more.

Heaving a sigh, Leila got up and began her routine. After pulling on her jeans she moved to choose a shirt only to hesitate. Glancing down at Vlad's shirt that still faintly smelled of him, she made her decision. Pulling off the shirt long enough to slip on a bra, she quickly replaced the shirt before tucking the excess into her waistband. Looking in the mirror, she smiled a tad limply before shaking her head and trying again.

Kira was excited about spending Christmas with Leila so, considering that she and Mencheres had changed their plans for them, the least Leila could do was paste on a smile.

It's only for a week, she reminded herself, but it sounded weak despite her best efforts. Trying again with the smile, she managed something closer to her goal. With another sigh she gave it up, that was the closest she would come and Kira wouldn't care if she wasn't as bright and fluffy in the morning as normal, given the circumstances. Straightening her shoulders, Kira walked across the fourth floor toward where Kira and Mencheres were staying for their visit.

When she was a few paces away she tilted her head, hearing a weird sound, before blanching and doing an about face. She would give them a few hours to finish what they were doing, if they weren't down by noon then she would go and check on them.

Walking toward the kitchen, she found herself missing the extra staff that were normally bustling around. Vlad had offered them the day off and a good portion of them had taken it, which Leila would never fault them for, but the castle felt...empty.

In all her time living here it had never felt empty, not surprising with the sheer number of staff. Shaking off her thoughts she entered the kitchen and froze. All of the mess from her and Vlad's flour fight had been cleaned up and in its place was a platter covered in cookies. Picking one up, she inhaled deeply, fighting back the wave of tears as she faintly heard the sound of her mother's voice instructing her on how to mix the dough just right.

Even though she knew better, she took a bite. Grimacing at the taste, Leila got herself some water and made herself finish the cookie. She wasn't about to throw it away because she had the bright idea to eat it while knowing she wouldn't like it, that was a waste of a good cookie. The sight of the platter brought back bitter sweet memories, so turning on her heel she walked out of the kitchen.

Leila lifted her head high, she was going to do her best to stay out of a bad mood today. She and Vlad would celebrate once he got back, their holiday wasn't canceled, just postponed until then.

Nodding in determination, she breezed to the main hall where the biggest tree stood. Sitting on the couch, she took in the splendor of the decorated to the nines room. Garland was draped gracefully around the room, the tree was covered in ornaments of every kind, and the presents were all perfectly wrapped and placed under the tree.

One of the presents caught her attention, as it hadn't been there yesterday. Moving over, she saw that it was for her from Vlad. With a pang she remembered his words, your present has arrived. Feeling the stubborn tears start to build up, she brutally stomped her emotions down and stood. She would wait until Vlad was back before opening it. She already knew what was in it and seeing it before he returned would only drag her mood down.

Glancing around again at the elaborate decorations, she grimaced. Who was she kidding, there was nowhere she could go that wouldn't remind her of Vlad. She had walked every inch of this castle with him at one point of another, she was just going to have to smile for the camera until the day was over. That was one thing she had learned during the holidays, once Christmas was done the worst of the loneliness would abate, she just had to wait it out and hope that it held true now as it had then.

Just as she was considering going back to bed, even though she knew that she wouldn't sleep it was still better than sitting here and feeling sorry for herself, a voice broke through her daze. "I know that look and you are not going to curl into your hole until Christmas is over." Spinning away from the dazzling lights on the tree, Leila came face to face with Gretchen who was holding up her phone and obviously recording.

Leila raised a hand to block the camera lens without hesitation, "Come on Gretchen, don't do that. I don't feel like having a camera in my face right now." She noted how tired she sounded and grimaced internally, she had been caught off guard by Gretchen and hadn't bothered to fake contentment. Gretchen wasted no time in jumping on that tidbit.

"Geez sis, you look like the walking dead, all pun intended. Did you get any sleep last night?" Leila fought back a grimace with mild success, "I got some…" She hedged, hoping that Gretchen would drop the subject. She should've known better, her sister never dropped it.

"Yeah, that's Leila speak for less than an hour. Well since you're up do you want to open presents?" Leila narrowed her eyes at the subject change. Usually Gretchen would hound her within an inch of her life if she showed wariness, but she seemed content to let the matter lie.

"I'm going to wait for Vlad to open the one from him, but I'll watch you open yours?" It came out as more of a question than a statement, but Gretchen beamed before grabbing her hand to propel her back toward the tree.

"That works for me, besides you can open my gift to you now and your hubby's later." Leila mumbled something about how Vlad wouldn't like her calling him that, but didn't argue further. Truth be told her curiosity was peaked, it had been years since she had gotten anything from her sister and she had no idea what it could be.

Sitting down, Leila didn't notice Gretchen placing her phone on the table so the camera faced both of them. Gretchen bounded over with a brightly wrapped giant box in one arm with her own present in the other. Plopping down next to Leila, she wasted no time in tearing through the paper with a child like glee. When she uncovered the gift, she squealed in joy. "You got me that dress I wanted! I thought you weren't listening!" She reached across the mess of paper to pull Leila into a one armed hug. Leila shrugged, smiling tiredly at her sister's enthusiasm. "I told you that I was, I just don't understand most of the designer labels so I was only understanding parts of what you said."

Gretchen practically vibrated with excitement, turning to Leila she nudged her to open her own gift. "Go on! I can't wait to see the look on your face!" Her sister's excitement made her smile, this reminded her of when they were kids and Gretchen couldn't contain herself, bouncing all over the place. Pulling the box squarely into her lap, she glanced curiously at Gretchen who made impatient hand gestures for her to hurry up.

Chuckling, Leila tore into the paper until a plain wooden chest was sitting in her lap. It had nicks all over it, announcing it's used status and confusing Leila. What could Gretchen have gotten her that would include a wooden chest? Even as her hands drifted over it, something about it felt familiar. It prodded at the back of her mind with a foreboding feeling, which she promptly brushed away. Gretchen wouldn't give her anything bad, their relationship had gotten better lately.

Ignoring her odd feeling, Leila opened the chest only to immediately realize why she had a bad feeling about the chest. Inside were hundreds of old photos. Birthdays, holidays, and just because their mother happened to think that they looked cute while holding a camera at the time, all stared up at her. Leila felt the room spin as memories of the last time she had looked though these assaulted her. Dimly, she noted that the videos were all off to the side neatly stacked. Although, the ones her father destroyed weren't present for obvious reasons. Gretchen, unknowing of the Pandora's box she had unwittingly opened, happily chattered on. "I know that you have been avoiding the house lately because of Dad being a dick, but you deserve to have these. I brought over all of Mom's old videos and photos. The ones I wanted I already copied so those are all yours. A few of the videos are missing, but that probably happened in a move. So what do you think?" Leila stared down at the box, a sick feeling gripping her stomach as memories battered her from all sides. This gesture was meant to be a caring one, and under other circumstances Leila would have deeply appreciated her sister's thought, but with her emotions already fried it was all she could do not to burst into tears on the spot. Her vision blackened around the edges, her fathers enraged voice seeming to bellow clearly through the air, despite him being a continent away. Leila felt as her mind locked up under the torrential emotions bursting forward from the long buried memories. All sounds dulled into a buzzing as her mind replayed that dreaded night. 

Thankfully, Gretchen took her silence as a compliment. "Wow I managed to strike you speechless, that's one for the history books! I'm going to go try this on, be right back!" As she breezed out of the room, Leila couldn't move. Still staring down at the trunk in her lap with trepidation and wariness, Leila felt as the tears started to flow but she couldn't find the willpower to stop them.

She didn't hear her phone begin to ring, or Kira and Mencheres entering the room. Kira for her part immediately noticed that something was wrong when Leila didn't respond when she called out to her. Cautiously moving to kneel by her, she took in the situation and after looking into the trunk took a guess as to what the problem was.

In the background, Leila's phone continued to ring. Every time it stopped to go to voicemail it would hang up and immediately begin again. Kira shot it a look before focusing on Leila as Mencheres knelt on Leila's other side. Kira tried a few more times to unsuccessfully get Leila's attention, worry flowing through her at her near catatonic state. The phone's ringing grating on her nerves, Kira asked Mencheres, "Honey, can you get that? It might be urgent."

Mencheres froze when he saw Gretchen's phone, the light blinking alerting him to the currently recording phone. Looking from the recording to the non stop ringing phone, it clicked who was on the other end of the video. Cursing internally, Mencheres sent his power out to snatch up Leila's phone before answering it.

"Vlad." Kira's head snapped around in confusion at his certainty of the callers identity without waiting for them to speak. Mencheres gestured to the phone still recording on the table, and with a flash of pain, Kira understood. She glanced for a second at the camera, uncertainty shown clearly on her face, before shifting to block Leila from view.

Before Mencheres could speak Vlad snapped out in a dangerous voice, "Put my wife on the phone immediately." Looking down at the still unresponsive Leila, Mencheres shook his head knowing that the camera would pick up on it, "She is currently unable to answer you."

He heard a feral snarl from across the line before Vlad spoke again, this time pausing between each word. "Put. Her. On. The. Phone...Now." Sighing at Vlad's temper, Mencheres knelt in front of Leila, gently nudging Kira back.

He brushed his power over Leila's hand, hoping to get a response out of her only to receive none. "Leila, Vlad is on the phone for you. You should talk to him, he is very worried about you." He saw a slight shift when he spoke Vlad's name, but she still seemed trapped in her own world. Sighing, he tried another approach. Sitting down on the side unoccupied by Kira, Mencheres lifted the phone to her ear and spoke to Vlad.

"She isn't responding to anything physical, but I believe she heard me. She at least registered your name." Mencheres listened as Vlad tried to bring his wife back to the present with the only thing he had available, his voice. It felt like silver in his heart to hear the distress in Vlad's tone as well as the obvious worry in Kira's eyes and being unable to do anything about it. The only thing he could do was hold the phone up and comfort his lover, while hoping that Vlad could pull Leila out of whatever trance she seemed to be in. He tugged Kira into his free arm, rubbing her back to comfort her while they both waited with bated breath.

"Leila, can you hear me?" No response and a strangled sound ripped through the phone before Vlad pushed on. "If you can hear me, you need to try to focus on anything other than what you're thinking about right now. Think on what we will do once I am home, or our wedding, just do not focus on the trunk or it's contents."

Mencheres watched as Vlad's words seemed to have no effect at first and he worried that Vlad would act rashly in the face of his wife's distress while being unable to help. If he left the challenges halfway finished then his line would speculate wildly and probably come to their own incorrect conclusions. Or Vlad could simply burn the entire building to the ground with all of his challengers in it in his distress, which would most likely get the attention of the law guardians. Just as Mencheres was debating knocking Leila unconscious to stop that very scenario from happening, he watched with relief as she blinked.

Kira still blocked the camera's sight of Leila, much to Vlad's frustration. "Kira, move." If it had been anyone else Mencheres would have warned them to never talk to her like that again, but given the current situation he would ignore it. Vlad was being forced to watch as his wife was being torn apart by invisible demons that no one else could see. Mencheres wouldn't be in the mood for pleasantries had their roles been switched.

Kira quickly moved, after receiving a nod from Mencheres, to give the camera a better angle. Vlad's voice, tense as a bowstring, came over the line again. "Someone get that fucking trunk away from her." Every word was bitten off, as he clung to his temper by a hair's breadth.

Kira immediately sprang up, gently she poked and massaged at Leila's hands until they released their grip before standing with it. "Where do you want me to take it?" Mencheres cut off what would have been a scathing reply from Vlad, "Take it to their chambers and place it in the farthest corner of the closet. " Kira wasted no time, disappearing in a blur of motion with the trunk in hand.

Mencheres focused back on Leila, watching for any signs that she was coming out of her trance. He heard as Vlad took a deep breath to force a calm that he didn't feel into his voice, "Leila, I need you to focus on me, my love. Focus on my voice, you always tell me that you like to hear it when you feel unhappy, so listen to it now."

Slowly, Leila swallowed and tilted her head towards the phone before speaking in a shaking voice. "I'm here." Vlad had to bite back a sigh of relief at hearing her voice, even as wrecked as it sounded.

"Yes, you are and I want you to do something for me. Are you still listening?" He received a shaky nod, "I want you to take the phone Mencheres is holding and I want you to turn on the video chat. After that, I want you to go to our room, go directly to the bed and get in. Keep talking to me as you do all of that, do you understand?"

This time she voiced her affirmative, sounding slightly less shaky now that she had a directive. Mencheres helped her stand up, before turning on the video chat for her when her hands shook too much.

Vlad's face appeared immediately, twisted harshly with worry. Leila's eyes snapped out of their previous daze, focusing intently on the screen. Relief washed through Mencheres as Leila came back to herself, bit by bit.

Vlad felt some of his own worry ebb at the sight of her eyes glued onto his own. They weren't out of the woods, but they were heading in the right direction. "Good, now I want you to go back to our room." Nodding absentmindedly, Leila blurred out of sight. Mencheres walked over to the recording phone and turned it off, just as Gretchen and Kira walked in.

Gretchen looked at her phone in Mencheres hand with curiosity. "So that's where I left it." Without prompting, Mencheres handed it over. "Leila received a call from Vlad and retired to their room for the day. I wouldn't expect her for awhile yet." Gretchen's eyes flashed with a knowing look, before a grin slid across her face.

"I figured that would happen at some point today. She'll enjoy her morning more if she spends it talking to her husband so I don't mind. I think I'll go for a walk around though, I don't want to overhear anything I shouldn't. "

Mencheres didn't bother to correct her assumptions, better for her to think that her sister merely left to have a nice chat instead of dealing with an emotional upheaval. After she left for her walk, Mencheres turned to Kira with a grim look. "We should keep close to her, just in case. I don't believe she will try to take her own life with Vlad speaking to her, but I don't wish to risk it." Kira agreed immediately, linking their arms as they returned to their room across from Vlad and Leila's.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A day's flight away, Vlad paced the room restlessly as his wife followed his instructions. When Gretchen had called him to tell him of her plan he had never foreseen this outcome. She had thought he would enjoy seeing Leila's reaction to her gifts and she had been correct. Even though he couldn't be there, he would enjoy seeing Leila's reactions as she celebrated with their friends. Gretchen hadn't mentioned what her present was going to be, or Vlad would have cut all of this off before it came to this.

Seeing Leila as she stared at the decorations, before she had noticed Gretchen there recording, had tugged on his heart. She looked like she had gotten no sleep, which her sister was quick to notice, and she was moving on autopilot. Her shock at the sight of the camera had quickly been replaced with her mask of faked happiness, much to his chagrin. It was weak at best, but it was enough to fool her sister.

Vlad had hoped that she had slept better than him, but apparently not. When Leila had hesitated before opening the trunk, he had known that something was wrong, but he didn't know how wrong until she had frozen up. Then her earlier words had come back to him, pulling an old trunk from the attic full of her mother's memorophilia.

The look on her face when she realized what was in her lap confirmed it. Vlad cursed when he saw the tears start to flow, and Leila's stiff form. He didn't want to cut the video feed since it was his only eye into the situation, so he called for Maximus to bring his phone.

He did so promptly, albeit confusedly. Before he could ask Vlad about the situation, he ordered Maximus out. Concerned but obedient, Maximus left. The next few minutes were agonizing as he watched the phone ring in the video, before Mencheres picked up. Wasting valuable time arguing with him, Vlad was relieved when he finally was given to Leila. His worry increased when she showed no signs of hearing him though. He had to fight back his frustration, it would help nothing if he snapped at her while trying to comfort her.

His patience was rewarded when she responded, although her voice was shaking it sounded like the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. After the video connected and she could see him Leila visibly improved. Her eyes focusing on him instead of the past as she took in what he said and moved to comply.

In other circumstances, his wife actually doing what he tells her would be something to celebrate, but now it twisted the knife in his chest. She was only obeying because her mind was too frozen to do anything else.

Turning back to the present, he watched as Leila made it to their room. She hesitated by the closet before shaking her head and going to their bed. Placing the phone so it was propped against a pillow, she burrowed down into their sheets with obvious relief. Once comfortable, she glanced at the phone with a weak smile. She had come back to herself on the walk to their room, and felt embarrassment at how she had reacted. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I'm fine now."

"No, you are not fine and there is nothing for you to apologize about. You can't control how you react to certain situations, I know that better than anyone." Leila bit her lip, knowing that he wouldn't budge on it, so she changed the topic.

"I'm glad Gretchen didn't see that, it was a nice gesture and I'm glad that she did it. Her timing just sucked. I'm sure it wouldn't have been that bad if everything didn't line up as it did." The things that had lined up wrong being Vlad's absence went unsaid. "Maybe after you get home I'll look through them, but…" Here she hesitated, a haunted look briefly flashed across her face. "I won't risk looking at them before then though. I know what it does to me and time won't have made my reaction and better."

Vlad bit the inside of his cheek until it bled, he was moments from flying back to her side and damning the consequences. He knew logically that it was a bad idea and that if he did that there would be massive repercussions, but seeing his wife shaking and crying while being unable to comfort her besides the paltry way he was drove him near insane with frustration. "If that is what you wish, then we can. I agree with you not looking through it alone, no matter what. Promise me that you won't until I am home."

Confusion spread through Leila, she had just told him that she didn't want to. Why did he want her to promise-. It clicked with a sudden clarity what Vlad was afraid of. He thought she might be suicidal again, and looking at all the facts she wasn't surprised he had come to that conclusion. Losing Marty, another near death experience, almost losing Vlad twice and now this. She pushed as much confidence into her voice as she could when she spoke next, hoping to reassure him that he never had to worry about that.

"I promise and Vlad? I know why you're asking that and you don't have to worry. This situation is completely different than back then. I had lost Mom and thought the rest of my living family hated me. Yes, I lost Marty and yes that stings, but I still have you. I know that I will always have you and I could never leave you alone, especially not like that. I know now that it hurts, but it's only temporary. Once you get home it will all feel better."

Vlad's eyes shut as he fought down his emotions, she had hit the nail on the head with his worries. When he opened them again, he looked calmer. "You are right, I will always be yours and when I come home neither of us are leaving our room for at least three days. At the rate things are going, I might extend it to a week."

Leila let out a chuckle, "Yeah, a week with nothing but you sounds divine after the last few days. I'll happily do whatever I can to help that happen."

Vlad's grinned slyly, "Well I'm sure we could keep ourselves occupied with no problems. Especially if we remember to bring your present from downstairs." His eyes burned green at the thought only to soften back to copper when Leila laughed.

"Even if we didn't, I still have no doubts that we could keep ourselves busy. Speaking of presents, have you opened yours yet?" Leila perked up, excited and nervous to see his reaction as well as happy to be on a cheerier topic. Vlad raised an eyebrow, he hadn't seen any present in his pack. Pulling the bag from its spot under the bed, he wordlessly began searching through it for the aforementioned package.

It was when he was checking the outside pockets when he found it. A small rectangular box, carefully wrapped sat in his palm, barely covering the length. It had a tag on it only instead of his name on it, the words My Dragon were printed.

Holding it up to the camera for affirmation, Leila nodded. "I wasn't sure what to get you since you can buy anything you could want. I settled on something that you couldn't buy in a store, but if you don't like it that's fine. The back up plan is blistering sex, which I know you'll like so there's that."

Humming in consideration, Vlad smiled, "I am certain I will enjoy what you got for me, but just the same we should still include your back up plan. Call it a second present if you will." Leila laughed before gesturing to the box.

"Go on, open it before we really do turn this into one of those calls." Shooting her a smug smirk, he arranged the phone to have a clear view before carefully unwrapping his gift. Lifting the lid off of the box, he saw a small glass ornament. Upon further inspection, it was paperweight made of a peculiar substance. It was like no glass he had ever seen before, the light shining across it throwing an array of colors into the air. Leila's voice broke through his confusion over what exactly it was, "Hold it up to the light."

Doing so, he watched as an etched image in the surface glimmered, with shock he realized it was his family's crest. Somehow Leila had etched into this glasslike substance, the dragon that stood for his family, right down to the small details on the wings. Vlad glanced at Leila in wonder, "How did you do this? Also what is this made of? It is similar to glass, but seems sturdier."

Leila gave a shrug, "It is glass, but nothing made in a factory. It took me weeks to etch in the details and to keep it hidden from you, but by the look on your face I'd say it was worth it." Vlad thanked her, still fascinated as he turned it this way and that in the light, watching as the image shifted colors at each new angle.

"If it isn't man made then how did you come across it?" Leila grinned, she knew he would catch that.

"Here's a really interesting tidbit I learned when I was younger. When my lightning hits sand it turns it into glass, but the glass is different than the normal stuff. It's tougher for some reason and the colors are completely different than normal. I thought that it might make a nice desk ornament or something."

Vlad's smile grew, glass made from Leila's lightning and etched with his family's symbol. She had chosen perfectly for his gift, he would hang it by the window in their room though. If he were to put it in his study then it ran the risk of being broken, besides he didn't want to share this sight with anyone.

"It is beautiful and I will be sure to keep it safe until I am home." Leila beamed at his praise, that little thing hadn't been easy to make, but it was so worth it to see the look of amazement on Vlad's face whenever he held it up to the light. Maybe she could make another one but with a different design for next Christmas? It could be a new tradition for them.

As a comfortable silence spread Vlad looked carefully at Leila, examining her face for any lingering signs of distress. She caught his eye and smiled, more naturally this time. "You can stop looking at me like I'm going to break, I feel better already. Give it another twenty minutes of talking to you and I'll be fine to head out and celebrate with everyone. Mencheres and Kira are probably worried about me."

"If you think there will ever be a time when I don't worry about you, then you don't know me at all." His tone was joking, taking the bite out of the remark, but his face was serious. Leila smiled, "Yeah, I guess I can't ask you to not worry when I constantly do the same about you huh?"

"Unfortunately, worrying is a common side effect of love. It's the occupational hazard to caring for someone, which makes it unavoidable." Leila nodded her head in agreement at his assessment before a thought struck her.

"How did you know to call? Back in the other room?" Vlad's smile dropped into a frown. "Your sister thought I would enjoy seeing your reaction to her present, although she didn't tell me what it was at the time or I would have stopped her. She started a video call with me and then began the Christmas traditions with you. Her phone was pointed at you when you opened her present and I knew from your reaction that there was only one thing that it could be. Calling was the only way I could speak to you, so I did."

Leila winced, he had to see her have an emotional break while not being able to help, that must have been hell on him. As if hearing her thoughts, he spoke. "Stop worrying about my feelings while your own are in a precarious balance. The only thing that will make both of us feel comforted is my return, but until then our calls will have to do."

Giving a nod, Leila sighed. She should go out and face everyone, but she was comfortable here talking to Vlad. Vlad saw her reluctance and easily read what it was about. "I still have a few hours before I must meet with my challengers, if you want to continue our conversation."

Relief pushed through her veins, Leila wouldn't admit it, but she wasn't quite ready to stop talking to Vlad yet. His voice was a comfort that she desperately needed right now and Vlad had picked up on that, as he always did. Snuggling deeper into the blankets, Leila dragged Vlad's pillow closer before relaxing into the bed. The only indication that Vlad gave of his noticing her actions was a smile, before he began recounting his day in excruciating detail.

As the hours passed, Vlad was certain he had never spoken this long in a single conversation in his life. He had run out of things to tell Leila about his day after the first ten minutes and had then switched to commenting on some of the sights around the town he thought she might like to see some day. That kept him going for an hour and then he had run out again.

Usually it was Leila who kept their conversation going, while Vlad sat back and enjoyed the sound of her voice. Now their roles had been suddenly switched with Leila needing to hear his voice, it left Vlad with the task of thinking of things to talk about.

Just as Vlad was about to rise to get a book from the nearby bookshelf to read from, he noticed Leila drifting off to sleep. Instead of grabbing a book, Vlad began to hum under his breath. It was almost funny to watch, Leila's eyelids kept sliding down making her look drugged before rising again as she fought to stay awake.

It wouldn't be long until she fell asleep, to Vlad's relief. He was worried about her lack of sleep, he hadn't gotten much sleep last night but Leila seemed to have gotten even less than he had. If the only way Leila could get to sleep was by listening to his voice then he would choose a book to read to her every night until he could hold her in his arms to soothe her to sleep.

Just as he expected, moments later Leila's eyes slid shut as she slipped into a deep sleep. "Have sweet dreams, my love. Merry Christmas." Before he ended the call he heard her murmur back, "Love you." Smiling to himself, Vlad hung up and rose to begin his routine. He still had many challengers to kill before he could go home, after all.

As he marched out of the hotel a few hours later, Vlad made his decision. If he couldn't comfort his wife properly until he was home, then he would just have to do everything in his power to finish this quickly so he could go back to her side, where he belonged.

As he slammed the doors open to the meeting place, the faces of his challengers swung around to look at him with the same bleak looks of despair as they had worn the day before. "Change of plans, I will be fighting half of you today and the other half tomorrow. Should you choose to yield, then I will spare your life." Vlad almost snorted at the hope dawning on some of their faces. Really, he said he wouldn't kill them, but he never said he wouldn't torture them. His wife would have known instantly what his plan was, after all he never let shows of disobedience in his line go unpunished.

The reminder of his wife waiting for him at home, spurred him on. Turning to enter the room where his opponent already waited, he felt Leila's gift to him press against his side. Hesitating for a moment, he removed his coat and handed it to Maximus for safekeeping before facing his enemy. "Now then, I believe you and I have business to attend to."

_  
Okay! As I said at the top, after this there is definitely one more chapter and then a possibility for another.  
However, it is completely up to you guys if you want me to post it or not. I already have it written either way.  
Do you want to read the steamy part where they reunite and use Vlad's gift or just leave it hanging?  
Since we all know what is going down it isn't technically necessary to have the smut scene.  
If you guys want it just let me know and I'll post it.


	8. Vlad and Leila's First Christmas Part 6 FINAL PART

Finally! When I started this idea I never expected it to get to be this long I swear!  
Anyway as I mentioned in the previous chapter, if you guys want the smut oneshot let me know.  
Anyway, read and review with thoughts and opinions!

Leila woke up in the early afternoon, the phone still set up against the pillow next to her. Sitting up, she stretched out the kinks in her muscles from sleeping at the weird angle she had. She was surprised that she had fallen asleep, after last night's dismal attempts she had figured that sleep would be impossible until Vlad returned. Maybe she would call him again later when she went to bed for the night. The thought made her grimace, her husband was off fighting dozens of challengers, he didn't have time to soothe her to sleep every night. He needed the rest more than she did, he shouldn't be staying up to talk to her like he did.

Leila moved to the dresser to choose an outfit, her decision made. She would go and apologize to Kira and Mencheres for her earlier episode and she would do her best to enjoy the holiday with them. Later when Vlad called again she would reassure him that she was fine and there was no need for him to worry about her.

The sight of the trunk froze her in her tracks, in all the excitement she had forgotten about it. Forcibly pulling her attention to what she was going to wear, she glanced over her half of the closet. Nothing really sounded good to wear today, to her irritation. Just as she was about to grab something at random she saw one of Vlad's favorite sweaters. A deep wine red made from the softest material she had ever felt and it looked absolutely stunning on Vlad. Knowing that he wouldn't mind, Leila tugged off the stiff collared business shirt she had been wearing and replaced it with soft sweater.

It smelled like detergent, as she knew it would, but it was still soft and that was enough for her. Dropping the dirty shirt in the laundry she made her way out to meet Kira, but not before shooting off a text to Vlad. 'Thank you for helping me sleep. Stay safe, I love you and Merry Christmas.'

Kira sat on the couch in the entryway, the fireplace emitting a pleasant warmth. Leila smiled at her, this time not having to force it. She remembered how frantic Kira had been during her earlier episode, despite Vlad's less than kind attitude. It was nice to know that she had people who cared about her besides her husband.

Kira jumped up and flashed in front of Leila, worry still showing in her eyes. "Are you okay now?"

From anyone else Leila would take that as a mocking question, but she knew that Kira was honest in her worry. "Yeah, I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm fine now and I promise to keep it together this time."

Kira scowled at her, before pulling her into a hug unexpectedly. "Don't say it like that. It's not like you asked for that to happen and if you feel like you need to let it all out then go ahead. I'm the last to judge about needing to scream into a pillow just so you don't break down."

The hug was warm, not in the physical body temperature way since they were both vampires and therefore room temperature, but in a way that reminded Leila of when her and Gretchen use to get along. If given the time, Leila knew that she would grow to see Kira as a sister, possibly even an older one.

As Kira pulled back to glance over her face, looking for any lingering negativity, she nodded in approval when she found none. "Now then, do you want to come watch Christmas movies with Mencheres and I or do you want some time to yourself?"

Leila didn't have to consider it for long, it was better to distract herself with good company than to sit and be miserable alone. "I would love to watch movies with you guys, which ones are we watching?"

Kira linked their arms, listing off quite a few well known movies and a few lesser known ones as well. As Leila was pulled into the room where Mencheres already had the TV set and ready, she knew that while this Christmas wasn't what she had planned it would still be good in it's own way.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Leila laid down that night she was in a considerably better mood than when she had first woken up. She hadn't received a call yet from Vlad, which worried her, but otherwise the day had gone as well as it could. After the movie marathon, Kira had dragged Leila outside for a walk in the snow which turned into a snowball fight. At first Menecheres elected to stay out of it for the sake of fairness, but Kira convinced him quickly to join in without his telekinesis.

Leila was amused as she watched the four millennia old vampire pick up his lover and throw them both into the nearest snowbank. Kira got her revenge shortly after by acting as if she were surrendering and coming for a kiss only to push snow down the back of Mencheres shirt. This started the war anew, to Leila's astonishment.

It had taken them all the better part of an hour to fully finish the snowball fight before they had headed back inside to warm up. This was one of the times Leila wished that she could still taste human food, because nothing sounded better at the moment than a steaming cup of hot cocoa.

Once warm again they had said their goodnights before retiring. Leila sat on her and Vlad's bed and stared down at the phone in worry. Usually he would've texted by now to let her know that he was finished with his fights, but no word had been heard from him since she had fallen asleep.

Logically, Leila knew that he was probably just busy, he did say there were a lot of challengers and he had spent a good portion of the morning talking to her instead of going about his schedule, but the bitchy little voice in her head was having a field day with the radio silence.

He can't answer you because he is dead, there's nothing that you can do about it. Leila bit her lip until it bled, trying to block out the insidious voice. He is a strong master vampire, he is fine. Just because he didn't call when he did before doesn't mean that he is hurt, it just means that the challenges went on longer than before. Pull yourself together.

Just as she was about to give in and link to him, just long enough to check in and see how he was doing, the phone rang in her hand almost making her drop it in surprise. Vlad's name flashing across the screen had her releasing a sigh, snapping at her inner voice gleefully. Ha, take that!

Wasting no time in answering, Leila tried her best to not sound as relieved as she felt. The last thing Vlad needed was more reason to worry about her. "Good timing, I was just lying down for the night."

Either she had succeeded in keeping her relief out of her voice, or Vlad knew not to ask because he returned her earlier Christmas wishes without further comment.

"I was hoping to catch you before you tried to sleep. I had more challengers than was previously planned for, but I am completely unharmed. How was your day?"

Leila took care to detail out all the fun things she had done today, especially Kira and Mencheres antics in the snow. "I thought for a little while I was going to have to give them some privacy, because they completely forgot that I was there."

Vlad's chuckle brushed across her senses like a caress. Even thousands of miles away he had the ability to make her shiver. Glancing at the clock, Leila winced. She had been determined to not take up hours of Vlad's time this morning but they had already been talking for the better part of two hours with no signs of stopping.

Doing her best to sound natural, she tried to end the call so he could rest. "Well I am exhausted and you need your sleep for the fights tomorrow so I guess we should stop before I keep you up all night again."

There was a silence, Leila checked the phone to be sure that he hadn't already disconnected, but no he was still on the line with her. Her question of if he was there was cut off when he spoke.

"You didn't keep me up anymore than I would have been otherwise, just as you don't sleep when we are separated neither do I. I much prefer being awake and talking to you, or simply watching you through a video feed than staring at the ceiling while I attempt to sleep."

Here he paused to let his statement sink in before continuing. "Leila, stop trying to spare me minor inconveniences at the price of your discomfort. Instead, why not simply enjoy each others presence until we each fall asleep."

Leila bit her lip, she should have known better than to think he wouldn't have noticed. Still, if he wasn't getting any sleep anyway then it wasn't really hurting anything to keep him awake while they talk. Her former determination crumbling, Leila gave in. "Alright, but don't feel like you have to stay awake to keep talking to me. I feel much better now and just seeing you over a video would be more than enough to relax me. You need your sleep more than I do right now, you're the one fighting not me."

Vlad sighed from across the phone, "If it makes you feel better then, I promise to not purposefully keep myself awake. However, you must promise the same."

Leila laughed under her breath, typical Vlad. A vow with conditions, but she couldn't complain since it was what she was asking him to do for her. After she agreed they sat in silence, enjoying the others company even if it was only over the phone.

"Would it be okay if I start the video chat again? I like being able to see you." Vlad gave his permission, tone suggesting that he thought her ridiculous for even thinking to ask.

The screen flashed briefly before Vlad's features came through. The familiar widows peak framed with dark locks made her smile. He looked as tired as she felt, giving credibility to his previous statement about his amount of sleep.

They both took the other in, looking over every detail as if they would never get to see them again. Adjusting the phone to sit up against the pillow, she grabbed his pillow again before burrowing into the sheets. Vlad's mouth pulled up at the sight, "I see you chose a more comfortable shirt to wear as sleep ware this time."

The teasing had a heavy undertone to it that Leila wanted to avoid, so she put some extra pep in her voice when she responded. "The scent was gone from your other shirt, besides this one is more comfortable and I learned yesterday that your pillow still smells like you." Here she tugged on the pillow she had clutched to her chest. Vlad's eyes flashed green at the quick glimpse of her cleavage that she had accidentally shown him when she moved.

He always enjoyed seeing her in his clothes, but it was even more satisfying to know that while he was gone she preferred wearing clothes that smelled of him. Even while not by his side, she enjoyed making sure anyone who came near her knew who she belonged to. It stroked something deep inside of him, her choosing to cover herself in his scent while he was away. His bright green gaze locked on hers, the reason behind it quickly dawning on Leila.

With a little chuckle, she readjusted the shirt. "Sorry, I swear I'm not trying to turn this into one of those calls. I'm just not used to how your shirts hang on me."

"No need to apologize, I certainly am not complaining. If you keep looking as tempting as you do in my clothes, I might just make an exception about refusing to participate in those calls."

Shock rolled over Leila, he had not just said he was considering having phone sex. She must have heard wrong. Her thunder struck expression made him laugh deeply.

"I was being serious, but I find that I prefer the thought of waiting until I can tell you such things in person. It is more intimate that way and only getting to imagine you is a pitiful consolation prize for making love to you. Better to wait until I am home and I can strip you of my shirt myself while reaquainting myself with every inch of your flesh."

His words sent a jolt of heat straight down to her core. He needed to stop talking like that or she would have to take a cold shower. "I can't wait." Her eyes were undoubtedly bright green as she remembered the look of rapture on his face when she had seen him off. Vlad's own gaze locked with hers, his smile announcing that he was thinking of the same moment.

"And I will be rediscovering every inch, have no doubt about that Leila. Before that though, I have something to repay. While it was enjoyable to have you on your knees, I can't wait to have you on your back. I will take my time making you come, maybe I'll even see how many times I can make you come in succession before joining you."

Leila felt as the familiar warmth pooled in between legs, her frustration rising to match her lust knowing that she had no way of release. Her own fingers were nothing compared to Vlad, she wouldn't bother trying. She had grown used to the feeling of being completely full with him and nothing else would do.

Not that she was going to tell him that, he didn't need the ego boost. "Sounds like a great idea to me, but now we need to switch the topic before I really get worked up. It's not fair of you to wind me up while you're not here to take care of it."

Vlad's eyes still burned green, but he acquiesced, "You are right, but remember Leila, once I am home you and I will not be leaving that room for at least four days and during that time I will be more than able to take care of it. As many times as the need arises."

As the lust burned deeper, Leila knew what Vlad was hinting at. Briefly, she wondered if he would manage to kill her before those four days were over. As she changed the subject, a single thought rang through her head, But what a way to go.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next five days pass in agonizing slowness for both Leila and Vlad. The only upside being that Leila had been correct in her assumption that once the holiday had passed, the worst of her melancholy had as well.

As the sixth day of his outing came to a close Vlad looked out at those that remained from the original fifty. Forty-five were dead and the remaining five he had decided to bring back with him to torture at his leisure. He still didn't know who had been the orchestrator behind the entire plot, but he had it on good authority that it was one of those five. After he resurfaced from his time with Leila, he could spend months drawing their pain out.

It would take him longer to pull the answers out of them, he had spent the last five days pulling information from the challengers who submitted. None of them knew who exactly began the idea, only that it was one of the five standing in front of him. It was no matter to him, he could torture them at home just as easily, if not easier, than he could here. The only reason he hadn't done so before was those pesky challenges. Were it not for those, he would have simply dragged all fifty of the delinquents back to his castle on the first day.

Unfortunately, rules regarding the challenges were in place that he had to follow. However, he had trudged through all of them and was now free to return home to his waiting wife. She was under the impression it would be at least a few more days before his return, he would enjoy surprising her with his early arrival.

The past five days had not been easy on either of their parts, but he found that the addition of the video chat to their nightly routine had helped them both greatly. It was still not ideal, but they both got a few hours of sleep, which is better an their previous none. Pulling himself back to the present, Vlad reminded himself that he was going home and he would no longer need a phone to see his wife. In just one more day he would be holding her in his arms again.

If he left immediately and pushed the plane to fly at its fastest he might even make it home in time to kiss his wife for the New Year. Determination bloomed in him, turning to his prisoners he smiled, making all of them flinch. "Now that I have finished with your worthless challenges, it is time that we go home."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Leila watched in confusion and wariness as the plane prepared to land. Vlad wasn't due home until the day after tomorrow at the earliest and he hadn't warned her of any visitors. Turning to face an equally confused Mencheres and Kira, Leila nodded toward the window. "Shall we go greet the unknown guests?"

All three of them stood outside, waiting for the passengers to exit the plane. The first five people Leila didn't recognise, she subtly slid her glove off just in case it would be needed.

To her surprise, a familiar dark haired figure came out behind them. Impatience brushed against her subconscious, solidifying her suspicions. A grin broke her mouth as she bolted past the five shocked vampires, who she could now see had Vlad's guards watching them carefully. Vlad had a matching grin as he watched her shoot toward him, her excitement warming him.

Stretching his arms out, he braced himself for the impact and rocked backwards when Leila slammed into his arms without slowing down in the slightest. His five prisoners gawked at his open display of affection, but he couldn't be bothered to spare the attention to snap at them to look elsewhere. Maximus, who had been the last to come off the plane, did the honor for him.

His hand lashed out in a blur, clapping all five of them over the head in a single instant and sending them falling face first into the cement below them. Leila bit back a laugh at the comical sight from where she was pressed tightly against Vlad's chest. She had only seen that in cartoons, but it was highly amusing to see in real life. Maximus shot her a friendly smile, before barking out an order to have the prisoners brought to the dungeon until the voivode had time to deal with them.

Leila was briefly dismayed before she forcibly stomped it down. It made sense, he had five new prisoners who had tried to take advantage of his caring for her which meant that he needed to make an example out of them. He was home safely and they could celebrate after he finished with his 'due diligence'.

Vlad's smile fell into a confused frown, "Why are you dismayed?" Leila bit back a curse, while he couldn't hear her thoughts anymore he could still smell her emotions.

Deciding to get it over with, Leila ripped the bandaid off. "I know you have to go and deal with them, which is going to take at least a few days, but it doesn't matter. You're home safe and we can celebrate later."

Understanding flashed through Vlad, the smile returning to his lips to Leila's confusion. Before she could ask, Vlad had picked her up in a bridal carry and was flying toward their room. "You misunderstand. I promised you four days and that is what I will deliver, although the full week is sounding more and more appealing by the minute. Those fools have cost us enough time as it is, they can wait while I properly greet my wife and begin the New Years with a kiss."

He laid Leila down on their bed, noting his pillow still on her side of the bed. "Besides, there isn't a single thing on this planet that would stop me from finally touching you as I've been unable to do so for the past week." SO saying, he ripped off both of their clothes, not caring about the shreds that surrounded them on the bed.

Relief mixed with an overwhelming love as Leila looked up at Vlad. Wrapping her arms around him and pulling their bodies together, Leila took a moment to just enjoy having him in her arms again. Vlad's own tightened around her, picking up on the shift in mood and happily following her example.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Vlad dug his hands into her hair before claiming her mouth in a scorching kiss. As his mouth danced downward toward the pulsating heat in her loins, Leila remembered his promise and briefly thought about the present that was sitting off to the side on the nightstand. She had the forethought that they wouldnt stop to pick it up, so she had brought it up here. Now she was glad she did, wiggling a hand loose she drew Vlad's attention to the gift.

He looked at it for a moment before looking back at Leila. "Not right now, you can have your way with me, but not yet. I have been aching for you for the past week with an intensity I have never known. I am going to drive you to the brink of insanity with pleasure before joining you. After that, you can have me all to yourself, however you would like me. But for now, you are mine."

As his lips slid where she wanted them most and he pulled her legs up to lock behind his head, Leila couldn't bring herself to care about the slight change in plans. They had four days after all, and if that wasn't enough she could always convince Vlad to increase it to seven...  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
And we are done! Woo! That took me a decent chunk of time to finish.


	9. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of my fics will be undergoing changes.

Hello readers, it had come to my attention that someone has stolen my works and put them on an unofficial app to profit off them. I have not given permission for this and will now be updating all of stories so only Archive users can read them. I apologize if this inconveniences you, but my work will remain my work. If the problem continues I will be taking all of my writing off of here and never updating again. Thank you for your understanding.


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